STRICT rules controlling the embryo-screening technique at the centre of the controversy over “designer babies” were relaxed by the Government’s fertility watchdog yesterday.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said it would speed applications to test embryos for several serious diseases in cases where doctors already have experience of the procedure. At present, any IVF clinic wishing to conduct pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which involves removing a single cell from a fertilised embryo to test for diseases before transferral to the womb, must apply for a licence for each inherited disease test.

This lengthy process will be streamlined so that when tests are licensed at one clinic, other clinics will be approved too, if their technical proficiency has been approved.

Suzi Leather, chairwoman of the authority, told the Commons Science and Technology Committee that the old system was bureaucratic and limited patients’ access to technology that could protect children from inherited disease.

“It should be straightforward for clinics with a proven track record in the appropriate techniques to carry out screening for any of the conditions currently approved,” she said.

She said that the authority would remove the anonymity of licence committee members, which has caused controversy in the past. Last year it would not say which of its 18 members approved the use of PGD to test embryos for an inherited form of bowel cancer, which was revealed in The Times.

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