In a major scientific breakthrough, eight babies have been born in the UK using a cutting-edge technique involving DNA from three different people to help prevent rare and potentially fatal mitochondrial diseases, researchers reported.
The technique, known as mitochondrial donation, combines genetic material from the mother and father with healthy mitochondria from a third donor. The goal is to stop mothers with faulty mitochondrial DNA, which can cause conditions such as muscle weakness, seizures, developmental delays, and organ failure, from passing those defects to their children.
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Researchers from Newcastle University (UK) and Monash University (Australia) published the findings in the New England Journal of Medicine, noting that eight healthy babies were born using the method from a group of 22 women who underwent the procedure. One woman remains pregnant.
The procedure involves transferring the nuclear DNA from a mother’s egg or embryo into a donor egg or embryo that has healthy mitochondria and has had its own nuclear DNA removed. This results in an embryo with DNA from three individuals: the mother, the father, and a small portion (less than 1%) from the donor’s mitochondria.
Experts stress that this tiny amount of donor DNA does not affect the baby’s appearance or personality and carries no traits from the donor.
Dr. Zev Williams, director of the Columbia University Fertility Center, called the development a major milestone. “Expanding the range of reproductive options will empower more couples to pursue safe and healthy pregnancies,” he said.
The UK is one among the few countries that legally permits this technique. It was approved after a 2016 law change, under strict regulation by the country’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). So far, 35 couples have been approved to undergo the treatment in the UK.
However, the technique remains controversial in many countries, including the United States, where clinical use is currently prohibited due to laws that restrict heritable genetic modifications. Congress has repeatedly included bans on such research in FDA funding bills.
