1st babies born in Britain using DNA from 3 people

The genetic defects can result in diseases such as muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, heart problems and intellectual disabilities. About one in 200 children in Britain is born with a mitochondrial disorder. To date, 32 patients have been authorized to receive such treatment.

“Mitochondrial donation treatment offers families with severe inherited mitochondrial illness the possibility of a healthy child,” the U.K. fertility regulator said in a statement Wednesday. The agency said it was still “early days” but it hoped the scientists involved, at Newcastle University, would soon publish details of the treatment.

Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell expert at the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research center in London, said it would be critical to monitor the babies' future development.

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Britain: 1st babies born in country using DNA from 3 peopleBritain’s fertility regulator has confirmed the births of the U.K.'s first babies created using an experimental technique combining DNA from three people. The technique is used to keep children from inheriting rare genetic diseases. Britain’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said Wednesday that fewer than five babies have been born this way in the U.K. The agency didn't provide details to protect the families’ identities. In 2015, the U.K. became the world’s first country to adopt legislation regulating methods to help prevent women with faulty mitochondria — the energy source in a cell — from passing on defects that can cause muscular dystrophy, epilepsy and heart problems.
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