Test-tube baby helps save brother's life

JERUSALEM -- Moments after the Israeli test-tube baby was born, she saved her brother's life.

The test-tube baby was genetically selected as an embryo from several produced by her parents -- to make sure her bone marrow matched that of her 4-year-old brother and would help him recover from a serious genetic blood disorder, doctors said Thursday.

Immediately after birth, blood from the baby's umbilical cord was given to her brother whose bone marrow was damaged by a rare disorder, Fanconi anemia. Blood cells from the cord took over the functions of bone marrow.

The brother is recovering remarkably well and seems to be cured, said Amos Toren, an Israeli doctor involved in the procedure.

The parents do not want to be identified, Toren said.

The procedure, known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, was successfully carried at least once before in Minnesota two years ago.