Lawmakers OK 3-parent babies
Britain has become the first country to allow the creation of human embryos from the DNA of three people, a technique intended to help mothers avoid passing on genetically degenerative diseases such as muscular dystrophy to their babies.
The bill allowing the controversial technique — which critics say will lead to “designer babies” — was passed on Tuesday by the House of Lords, after being approved earlier this month by the House of Commons.
The treatment, called mitochondrial transfer, is known as “three-parent” in vitro fertilization because the babies, born from genetically modified embryos, will have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor.
Although the technique is still in the research stage in laboratories in Britain and the US, experts say that now legal hurdles have been overcome, Britain’s first three-parent baby could be born as early as next year.
“This result will be lifechanging for many women living with mitochondrial disease, giving them the precious chance to bear unaffected children, removing the condition from a family line and reducing the numbers faced with its devastating effects,” said Robert Meadowcroft, CEO of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.
He called it a “monumen- tal moment” in the search for treatments and cures for people affected by the condition.
Responding to the vote, Jeremy Farrar, director of the London-based Wellcome Trust medical charity, commended lawmakers for a “considered and compassionate decision”.
“Families who know what it is like to care for a child with a devastating disease are the people best placed to decide whether mitochondrial donation is the right option,” he said.
Mark Downs, CEO of the Society of Biology, also hailed the move, calling the bill “a great day for UK science”.
The landmark decision, Downs said, “will ensure mothers who carry faulty mitochondria can have healthy children free from the devastating conditions”.
But the legislation had critics as well. Marcy Darnovsky, director of the Center for Genetics and Society, a US campaign group, called the move a “historic mistake” that will turn children into biological experiments and will “forever alter the human germline”.
Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to discuss the technique, and scientists warned it could take decades to determine if it is safe. Experts say the technique is probably already being used elsewhere, but is not regulated.