In a groundbreaking development, the UK fertility regulator has confirmed the birth of a baby using the DNA of three individuals.
According to a BBC report, the majority of the baby’s genetic material is derived from its two biological parents, while approximately 0.1% comes from a third person, a donor woman.
This revolutionary technique aims to prevent the occurrence of severe mitochondrial diseases in newborns.
Although limited information has been disclosed, it is believed that fewer than five babies have been born using this method.
Mitochondrial diseases, which are incurable and can prove fatal within a matter of days or even hours after birth, pose a significant threat.
Families who have experienced the loss of multiple children, view this technique as their sole hope for having a healthy child.
Mitochondria are microscopic structures present in almost every cell of the body, responsible for converting food into usable energy.
When mitochondria are defective, they are unable to provide adequate fuel to the body, leading to conditions such as brain damage, muscle degeneration, heart failure, and blindness. Notably, these conditions are exclusively inherited from the mother.
Mitochondrial donation treatment represents a modified version of in vitro fertilization (IVF) that involves incorporating mitochondria from a healthy donor egg.
Two distinct approaches to mitochondrial donation exist. The first technique involves introducing the donated mitochondria after fertilization occurs between the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm. In contrast, the second technique incorporates the donor mitochondria prior to fertilization.
