The term “designer babies” was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in the same year My Sister’s Keeper was published—2004. At the time, the term was defined as zygotes tested for traits and characteristics before implantation to ensure a desired result. The first designer baby was conceived in 1996. This child was considered a designer baby because her parents had their zygotes tested to ensure they gave birth to a girl, as they already had two boys. An article about this child was released in 1999, creating a great deal of controversy as society began to discuss the possibility of parents being able to choose their child’s eye color, hair color, intelligence level, and athletic ability. Despite this debate, research continued. For example, embryonic researcher Yury Verlinsky developed a process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) that allows parents to choose zygotes that don’t contain certain genes that could lead to debilitating or fatal disorders.

In 2000, the first designer baby born via the PGD process was Adam Nash. Before being implanted into his mother, Adam was tested for the genetic disease Fanconi anemia, a disease his older sister, Molly, suffered from, as well as genetic markers that made him a good match for Molly.