- There are reports that several babies have been born in the United Kingdom using the DNA from three people.
- The technique is part of a fertility program in that country.
- It’s being utilized to help prevent the transmission of certain rare genetic diseases.
A novel new technique combining DNA from three different people has reportedly been used as a way to prevent the generational transmission of certain rare genetic diseases.
The process, called mitochondrial donation, uses genetic material from a mother and father and a third donor, in an attempt to drastically reduce or eliminate the exchange of mitochondrial diseases such as muscular dystrophy, hearing and vision disorders, epilepsy, heart conditions, learning disabilities, and even potentially neurodegenerative diseases.
Mitochondria are often called the “powerhouses of the cell,” and in the cases of mitochondrial diseases, they stop being able to power certain functions as well as they would if they were healthy. That includes the most energy-intensive cells, such as nerves and heart muscle cells.
“These babies have genomes derived from their biological father and mother just like any other babies but only had their mitochondria replaced with the ones coming from the donor,” said Dr. Steven Kim, a researcher in aging and cancer at the Coriell Institute of Medical Research in New Jersey and a medical content advisor at Breakout.
“The practitioners did so by transferring the nucleus of the original egg (mother) to a new, unfertilized egg (donor),” he explained to Medical News Today. “This will theoretically eliminate the mitochondrial disorders but not without limitations since some residual mitochondria can still be present in the egg and later develop problems.”
The process has been approved for use in the United Kingdom under the auspices of the country’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates fertility clinics and their operations.
Hopeful parents are eligible…
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