A Canadian mother has frozen her eggs for use by her seven-year-old daughter, who is likely to become infertile.Should the girl opt to use the eggs and gain regulatory approval, she would effectively have a baby that was her half-brother or sister.
Critics said the work, presented at a fertility conference in Lyon, was deeply concerning.
But the doctors from the McGill Reproductive Center, Montreal, called the donation an act of motherly love.
Also, the girl and any future partner would have a choice as to whether to use the eggs or not, they said.
The girl, Flavie Boivin, cannot have children naturally because of a chromosomal condition called Turner's syndrome.
Professor Tan said this was the first case of mother-to-daughter egg donation. There have been cases of donation from sister to sister.
Dr Richard Kennedy, of the British Fertility Society, said: "This altruistic behaviour is not dissimilar to the scenario where a parent donates a kidney to a child.
"In this case, instead of using eggs from an unknown donor, she will get the opportunity to know the source.
"Although this means the resulting offspring will be similar in genetics, an unrelated sperm will be used - and this means that the offspring will not be a true sister."
Link & Image: BBC
Tags: Sibling | Birth
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