A baby fertilized with DNA from three people has been born in the United Kingdom, after doctors used an innovative procedure with the aim of preventing children from inheriting incurable diseases, published Wednesday the British newspaper "The Guardian".
The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (DTM), uses tissue from the eggs of healthy donor women to create In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) embryos free of harmful mutations carried by their mothers that are likely to be passed on to their children.
Doctors will use an innovative procedure aimed at preventing children from inheriting incurable diseases (PA).
Because embryos combine sperm and egg from biological parents with tiny battery-like structures called mitochondria from the donor egg, the resulting baby has DNA from the mother and father, plus a small amount of genetic material (about 37 genes) from the donor.
Although there is DNA from a donor, 99.8% of the newborn's DNA comes from the mother and father, the information adds.
Research on MDT, which is also known as mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), was initiated in the UK by doctors at the Newcastle Fertility Centre.
Step by step
The Newcastle process consists of several steps. First, the father's sperm is used to fertilize the eggs of the affected mother and a healthy donor. The nuclear genetic material is then removed from the donor's egg and replaced with that of the couple's fertilized egg.
The resulting egg has a complete set of chromosomes from both parents, but carries the donor's healthy mitochondria instead of the mother's defective ones. It is then implanted in the uterus.
The work aimed to help women with mutated mitochondria have babies without the risk of passing on genetic disorders, The Guardian learned.
The father's sperm is used to fertilize the eggs of the affected mother and a healthy donor (PA).
People inherit mitochondria from their mother, so harmful mutations can affect all children.
For affected women, natural conception is often an uncertainty, as some babies can be born healthy because they inherit only a small proportion of the mutated mitochondria, but others can inherit much more and develop serious, progressive, and often fatal diseases.
About one in 6,000 babies is affected by mitochondrial disorders.
The Guardian says the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the sector's regulator, facilitates approval of the procedure on a case-by-case basis, but has already given the green light to at least 30.
The nuclear genetic material is removed from the donor's egg and replaced with that from the couple's fertilized egg (PA).
Doctors at the Newcastle clinic have not published birth details from their MDT programme, for fear of compromising patient confidentiality.
However, the newspaper says it learned of this procedure from a request under freedom of information laws.
EFE Agency.
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