The UK’s fertility watchdog is studying whether couples can create and store embryos to serve as spare parts. The controversial proposal means that IVF would be used to provide a body repair kit, not just as a solution to infertility. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has already approved the creation of "saviour sibling" babies created with IVF and screened to be a tissue match for an existing child with a serious health condition.

The new proposal would mean that embryos could be stored until a problem occurs, thawed, and developed into embryonic stem cells. British law is being reformed to allow embryos to be stored for 55 years, which could make this an attractive commercial possibility.

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, told the Daily Mail: "It is sadly almost inevitable that bespoke embryonic stem cells created from frozen surplus will become the latest must-have healthcare accessory."

Hollywood is cashing in on the idea of saviour siblings. A film of the Jodi Picoult novel, My Sister’s Keeper, (click for YouTube trailer) will be released on June 26. The tear-jerker features a young girl who sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions about her body when she is scheduled to donate a kidney to save her older sister. ~ Daily Mail, Apr 25