UK the first country to legally offer ‘three-parent’ gene therapy

BRITAIN’S fertility regulator gave the green light yesterday for the country to become the first in the world to offer “three-parent baby” fertility treatments legally.

The technique would allow women with disease-causing mutations in their mitochondrial genes to give birth to genetically related children free of mitochondrial disease.

British politicians voted in February to allow the creation of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) babies with DNA from three people, but clinics needed to obtain licences from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) before introducing mitochondrial gene therapy.

HFEA chairwoman Sally Cheshire called the decision to license the treatment historic, important and a world first.

An independent panel of experts said last month the practice should be adopted cautiously to prevent certain genetic diseases from being passed on to future generations.

Mitochondria are structures in cells which generate vital energy and contain their own set of genes called mDNA, which are passed down through the mother.

Mitochondrial diseases cause symptoms ranging from poor vision to diabetes and muscle wasting, and health officials estimate that about 125 babies are born with the mutations in Britain every year.

However, opponents have warned that it paves the way for designer babies.

The treatment involves the embryo receiving the usual nuclear DNA from the mother and father, as well as a small amount of healthy donor mitochondrial DNA (mDNA).

The review panel recommended its clinical use in specific circumstances where inheritance of the disease is likely to cause death or serious disease.

The first women could receive the treatment as early as March or April. – AFP