London - The first "designer baby" conceived using a controversial screening technique is expected to be born next year.

An embryo has been implanted into a surrogate using IVF by US firm Genomic Prediction.

Nathan Treff, chief scientific officer at the New Jersey firm, told the Mail "there is now a pregnancy confirmed" and it is hoped the baby will be born in 2020.

It is understood the parents are a male couple in the US, who are having the baby using a surrogate mother.

The embryo has been selected through genetic sequencing to have a reduced risk of 11 diseases, including several types of cancer and diabetes. While such a test would be illegal in the UK, Genomic Prediction said it intends to apply for a licence with the watchdog Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

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World's first 'designer baby' to be born in a year - IOL