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Sunday 18 December 2016

UK First Country To APPROVE Controversial 'Three-Parent Baby'

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The United Kingdom (UK) has approved a controversial in vitro fertilization procedure that produces babies using the DNA from three people.
The procedure, which was developed in England, was initially used when the mother’s DNA contains genetic malformations that can cause neurological defects in her baby.
The UK, which is comprised of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, plans to offer the procedure to 25 women per year.

Using several techniques, doctors take mitochondrial DNA from the nucleus (center) of the mother’s diseased egg and transfers it to the nucleus of an egg from a healthy donor. The egg is then fertilized using male sperm from the father.
With this procedure the future baby is produced using bits of DNA from three people — the mother, the donor, and the father.
Because the baby has DNA from three people, genetic problems such as muscular and neurological issues can occur later.
Debates over the moral and ethical issues of three-parent babies continue. critics liken the procedure to creating a Frankenstein monster.
The three-parent procedure has been performed in Mexico, but it is banned in the United States.
So, what is the objective of creating a baby with three sets of DNA? This process would allow women who carry disease-causing mutations within their mitochondrial genes to birth genetically-related children without the risk of passing on these ailments. The controversial treatment requires that the embryo receive the usual "nuclear" DNA from the mother and father, plus a small amount of healthy mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) from a female donor, Medical Xpress reported. 

Mitochondrial diseases cause symptoms including poor vision, diabetes, muscle wasting, and more, Medical XPress reported. Health officials in the UK have estimated that around 125 babies are born with the mutations in Britain each year.

The first women could receive the treatment as early as March or April in the UK.

Read: Innovative Use Of HIV, Stem Cells Cures Rare Genetic Diseases And Cancer [VIDEO]

"We are delighted by today's decision," said Doug Turnbull, director of the Welcome Center for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, according to Medical XPress. "In Newcastle, we will be aiming to treat up to 25 carefully selected patients a year with the mitochondrial donation technique."

IVF has been a miraculous treatment for countless couples who were previously unable to conceive since its first success in 1978. However, DNA swapping is significantly more complicated.


In Mexico, there are currently no regulations on the use of mitochondrial donation, so a procedure was performed in that country this year which resulted in the world’s first baby being conceived using a technique called spindle nuclear transfer. Other procedures have been performed in the past, but success has been fleeting, and some versions have been banned in certain countries because of their potential health risks, Medical Daily previously reported. 

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