“IVF Procedure Produces First Baby in UK with DNA from Three Parents”

The first UK baby created with DNA from three people has been born through the use of a pioneering IVF procedure, according to reports.

The child developed through a process known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT) which involves taking the nucleus from one of the mother’s eggs – containing her DNA – and implanting it into a donor egg that had its nucleus removed but retained the donor’s healthy mitochondrial DNA.

Using MDT allows for the creation of IVF embryos that are free from harmful mutations carried by the mother and likely to be passed on to their children.

While mitochondrial DNA provides power for the cell and can be compared to a battery, unlike ordinary DNA which contains the genetic information that helps make us who we are.

Many scientists in the field argue that the term “three-parent baby” is inaccurate, as more than 98.8% of the DNA is still from two people.

In 2015, the UK parliament approved the procedure, and regulatory body the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) considers requests for its use.

The first British “three-parent child” was discovered through a Freedom of Information request to the HFEA, and a small number of babies have since been born in the UK using MDT.

Doctors at the clinic do not release details of births from its MDT programme, to protect patient confidentiality.

Britain is not the first country to see children born through MDT – in 2016 a child was born in Mexico through the same procedure.

The Mexican child’s mother had Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder that affects the developing nervous system and would have been passed on through the mitochondrial DNA. Professor Alison Murdoch, head of the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, Newcastle University, who has been at the forefront of research in this area in the UK, described the birth as “great news.”

Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessory action within 24 hours.