The fertility regulator reported the first UK baby born with three people’s DNA.
The majority of their DNA comes from their two parents, with less than 0.1% coming from a female donor.
The innovative technique aims to prevent the birth of children with debilitating mitochondrial diseases.
There have been fewer than five such births, but no additional information has been released.
Mitochondrial diseases are intractable and often fatal within hours or days of birth. Some families who have lost multiple children view this technique as their only option for having a healthy child.
Mitochondria are the tiny compartments within virtually every cell that convert food into usable energy.
The inability of dysfunctional mitochondria to sustain the body results in brain damage, muscle wasting, heart failure, and blindness.
They are only transmitted by the mother. Therefore, mitochondrial donation treatment is a modified form of IVF that utilizes healthy donor egg mitochondria.
However, mitochondria have their genetic information or DNA, so technically the offspring inherit DNA from their parents and a small amount from the donor. This is a transformation that will be inherited by future generations.
This donor DNA does not affect other characteristics, such as appearance, and does not comprise a “third parent”
The technique was pioneered in Newcastle, and 2015, the United Kingdom passed legislation permitting the creation of such infants.
However, the United Kingdom did not promptly proceed. In 2016, the first baby was delivered to a Jordanian couple receiving treatment in the United States.
As of 20 April 2023, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) reports that “less than five” infants have been born. It does not provide exact figures to prevent identifying the families.
Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust, said, “News that a small number of babies with donated mitochondria have now been born in the UK is the next stage in what will likely remain a slow and cautious process of evaluating and refining mitochondrial donation.
There has been no communication from the crews in Newcastle, so it is unknown whether the technique was successful.
Prof. Robin Lovell-Badge of the Francis Crick Research Institute stated, “It will be interesting to see how well the mitochondrial replacement therapy technique worked in practice if the babies are free of mitochondrial disease, and if there is a risk that they will develop problems in the future.”
Technically, there is a risk of “reversion” in which any defective mitochondria that are passed down could increase in number and still cause disease.
It was once estimated that up to 150 of these infants could be born annually in the United Kingdom.
