Jayson Whitaker, from Chesterfield, speaking before a debate on Government proposals to change the law on embryo use, said new legislation should be introduced so families are not forced abroad for treatment.

His son Charlie, now nine, was cured of Diamond Blackfan Anaemia after a successful transplant of cells from his perfect match brother Jamie.

But he and his parents had to fly to the United States for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) - the process for choosing healthy embryos - after being told they could not undergo the vital procedure in the UK.

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Neither Mr Whitaker nor wife Michelle and daughter Emily were a suitable match for Charlie, so the family took the 8,000-mile round trip.

A donor sibling for their son was chosen and after his birth in 2003, blood collected from Jamie's umbilical cord was used for Charlie's transplant.

Mr Whitaker said: "We were going to have another baby anyway but we were reducing the odds of a perfect match for Charlie from one in four to one in one. Who wouldn't do that?

"This legislation will allow people to make the same decision without forcing them to go abroad.

"We did an 8,000-mile round trip with a child who required ongoing medication and blood transfusions, and a two-year-old child. It was not a holiday. It was by no means pleasant.

"My wife had to undergo invasive medical procedures while we were staying in a hotel room."

After a year of checks to make sure baby Jamie was healthy, his older brother was given the stem cell transplant.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will allow the creation of hybrid human and animal "admixed" embryos, which scientists hope will lead to developments in the treatment of conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Just nine Labour backbenchers voted against the Bill, which was given a Second Reading by 340 votes to 78, a majority of 262.

But ministers will face a sterner test when the measures return next week and Labour MPs have a free vote on some of its most contentious elements.

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