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The first three-parent baby could be on its way next year, when the UK parliament votes on whether to legalise a novel form of IVF. The procedure would allow thousands of women with mitochondrial mutations to have a child without the fear of passing on disease.
Mitochondria, the energy generators of cells, have their own DNA, passed down by the mother and distinct from the chromosomes in the nucleus. About 1 in 5000 people in the UK have mitochondrial DNA mutations that lead to blindness, seizures, dementia or mental impairment.
There is a way to prevent the faulty DNA being passed on: IVF using a donor egg with normal mitochondrial DNA and a nucleus taken from the would-be mother's egg. Researchers pioneering such mitochondrial replacement therapy have already produced several healthy monkeys. However, the procedure – the first that would alter the DNA of future generations – has yet to be approved for use in humans.
In March, the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority advised the government to do so after a lengthy review of safety, efficacy, ethics and public opinion. UK researchers are tight-lipped about when exactly they could recruit the first couples, but technically, all that is needed is a vote in parliament, which could happen before July. It will then take several more months to pass into law. The US Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, is due to discuss the issue in February.
Would the egg donor enjoy rights as a parent? Contributing just 0.1 per cent of the child's total DNA, she wouldn't legally or ethically be considered one, say most bioethicists.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Nursing dreams of a three-parent baby"
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