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Three Parentbabies

The UK voted to allow mitochondrial donation, which would permit babies to legally have DNA from three people. The technique involves replacing a mother's faulty mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from a female donor, preventing certain genetic disorders. While supporters say it offers hope to families, critics argue it raises ethical issues and is a step towards "designer babies." The bill passed the House of Commons 382-128 and will next be considered by the House of Lords, with the potential to allow the first three-parent baby in the UK next year if approved.

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1K views3 pages

Three Parentbabies

The UK voted to allow mitochondrial donation, which would permit babies to legally have DNA from three people. The technique involves replacing a mother's faulty mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from a female donor, preventing certain genetic disorders. While supporters say it offers hope to families, critics argue it raises ethical issues and is a step towards "designer babies." The bill passed the House of Commons 382-128 and will next be considered by the House of Lords, with the potential to allow the first three-parent baby in the UK next year if approved.

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TheUKvotedyesonthreeparentbabiestoday.

Hereshowonebabycanhavethree
peoplesDNA
By

RachelFeltman
February3

Sometimesittakesthreepeople(andalab)tomakeahealthybaby.
TheUnitedKingdomcouldbecomethefirstcountry
toallowthreepeople
toparentonechildafterafashion,anyway.Thetechnique,whichuses
donatedDNAfromathirdpartytocutouttheriskofcertaingenetic
disordersthattheparentsmightpasson,wasputtoavoteTuesdayin
theHouseofCommons.Ifthebill(whichpassed382128)getsthe
backingofParliament'supperchamberlaterthismonth,thismethodof
DNAdonationwouldbecomelegalintheUKinOctoberof2015.

Buthowexactlydoesababyendupwiththree"parents,"andwhyisthetechniquesocontroversial?
Thebabiesthatresultfromthistechniquecanonlyattributearound.1%oftheirDNAtothethirdparty,so
"parent"isabitofastrongword.Thedonorprovidesonlytheirmitochondria.Oftencalledthe"powerplants"
ofthecell,themitochondriaconvertsenergyfromfoodintoenergythatcanpoweracell.Whensomeone's
mitochondriadon'tfunctionproperly,it'sbadnewsindeed.Mitochondrialdiseases

cancauseawholehostof
lifethreateningproblems
,andit'sestimatedthatasmanyas4,000childrenarebornwithsuchconditionsin
theUnitedStateseachyear.

Thetechniqueupforvote,whichwasdevelopedbyBritishresearchers,takesamitochondriafromahealthy
femaledonorandcombinesitwiththeDNAoftwoparentsinaninvitrofertilization.Thiscanbe
accomplishedateithertheeggstageortheembryostage:Inonemethod,twoeggsarefertilizedwiththe
father'sspermonefromthedonor,andonefromthemotherandtheparents'geneticinformationis
insertedintothedonor'sembryo,whichhashadeverythingbutthemitochondriaclearedout.

Inanother,the
nucleusofamother'seggcellisplaceddirectlyintoadonoregg,replacingtheoriginalnucleusthere.
Lastweek,
40expertsfrom14differentcountriessignedalettertoTheGuardian
urgingBritishpoliticiansto
supportthedonationprotocol.Butthe

ChurchofEngland
hascomeoutinoppositionofthetechnique.
Naysayersciteethicalconcerns:Sometakeaprolifestance,arguingagainsttheembryodestructionthat
occursduringtheprocess.Othershaveexpressedconcernthatthistechniqueopensthedoorto"designer
babies"chosenfordesirablephysicalormentaltraits.

"ThebiggestproblemisthatthishasbeendescribedasthreeparentIVF.Infactitis2.001parentIVF,"
GillianLockwood
,areproductiveethicist,toldtheBBC."Lessthanatenthofonepercentofthegenomeis
actuallygoingtobeaffected.Itisnotpartofwhatmakesusgeneticallywhoweare.Itdoesn'taffectheight,
eyecolor,intelligence,musicality.Itsimplyallowsthebatteriestoworkproperly."

Therearealreadypeopleoutthreewith2.001parents.
Asimilartechniquewaspioneered
intheU.S.during
the90s,butwasbannedafterlessthan100babieswereborn.Infact,havingastranger'sDNAinyourbody
permanentlyisn'tanovelideaatall."Thinkaboutbonemarrowtransplants,"PeterBraude,emeritus
professorofobstetricsandgynecologyatKingsCollegeLondon,

toldtheBBC
."Let'ssayunfortunatelyyou
haveleukaemiaandyouhavetohaveyourbonemarrowradiatedforthecancertobekilledandthenitis
replacedbybonemarrowfromsomeoneelsesayme.Effectivelyfromthattimeonwards,youwillhave
circulatinginyourbodyDNAfromme.Youwon'tberelatedtome,youmaybegratefultome,butyouwill
haveDNAfromathirdpersoncirculatinginyourbody."

Mom,dad,donor:Britainmovesstepclosertoallowingbabieswith3peoples
genes,WashingtonPost
By

KarlaAdam
February3
LONDONBritainmovedastepcloserTuesdaytobecomingthefirstcountrytolegalizesocalled
threeparentbabies,aslawmakersmovedclosertoallowingfertilitylabstousegeneticmaterialfroma
mother,fatherandafemaledonor.

ThedebateintheHouseofCommonsreflectedthedeeppassionson

bothsides
oftheissueofallowingin
vitroproceduresthatcouldpreventthepassingonofinheritedandincurablediseasesthroughmitochondrial
DNA,whichiscarriedfrommothertochild.

Supporterssaychangingthelawwouldofferhopetocoupleswhootherwisewouldrisktransferringdiseases
suchasmusculardystrophytotheiroffspring.Butawiderangeofcriticsquestiontheethicsoftheproposal,
sayingitwouldbeanothersteptowardcreatingdesignerbabies.

Theproposalpassed,382to128,andmovedtoParliamentsupperchamber,theHouseofLords,wherea
voteisexpectedsoon,althoughnodatehasbeenset.Commentatorssaythefirstthreeparentbabycould
bebornnextyearifthelegislativeeffortsucceeds.

ThisisaboldstepforParliamenttotake,butitisaconsideredandinformedstep,theparliamentary
undersecretaryforpublichealth,JaneEllison,saidbeforethevote.Formanyfamiliesaffected,thisis,
indeed,thatlightattheendofthedarktunnel,sheadded.

HowonebabycanhavethreepeoplesDNAViewGraphic

Thetechnique,calledmitochondrialdonation,involvesreplacingawomansfaultymitochondrialDNAwith
healthyDNAfromafemaledonor.Evenifthebillpasses,couplesseekingtreatmentwouldneedthe
permissionoftheHumanFertilizationandEmbryologyAuthority,Britainsfertilityregulator.
Religiousleadershavevoicedconcerns,warningthegovernmentagainstrushingintoadecisionand
arguingthatmoreresearchisneeded.

FearsovergeneticmanipulationarenotuniquetoBritain.Inthe1990s,theUnitedStatespioneereda
techniquecalledcytoplasmictransfer,aimedathelpinginfertilewomentohavetheirownbabies.Aspartof
theprocedure,donormaterialcontainingmitochondrialDNAwasaddedtothemothersegg.Fewerthan
100babieswerebornbeforetheFoodandDrugAdministrationeffectivelybannedthepracticeovermedical
andethicalconcerns.

IftheBritishproceduregetsthegreenlight,ababyconceivedthroughthetechniquewouldreceiveitskey
geneticmaterialfromitsmotherandfather,andjustasmallamountofDNAfromadonorfemale,whowould
remainanonymous.

Theaimistohelpthe

estimated

2,473womeninBritainwhoareatriskofpassingonpossibly
diseasetriggeringmitochondrialDNAtotheirchildren.Mitochondriaaretinystructuresinsidecellsthatact
likebatteries,providingenergytothecells.TheyalsohavetheirownDNA.Whentheydonotfunction
properly,theresultscanbedevastating.Faultymitochondriahavebeenlinkedtoblindness,deafness,
dementiaandmusculardystrophy.Amitochondrions37genesareasmallfractionofthoseinthehuman
genome,andunlikenuclearDNA,mitochondrialDNAdoesnotaffectappearancecharacteristicssuchas
haircolor.ThebanontinkeringwithnuclearDNAwouldremaininplace.


Still,shouldthelawchange,babiescouldbebornwithaverysmallfractionoftheirDNA,about0.2percent,
fromafemaledonor.SomeopponentsoftheproposedlegislativechangespeakofBritainssteppingontoa
slipperyslope.

FionaBruce,amemberofParliamentfromthe
ConservativeParty,saidthemovewouldbe
tantamounttolettingthegenieoutofthebottle.
ThebulkoftheBritishscientificcommunity,
however,appearedtowelcometheresultofthevote
andwidelyinterpreteditasprovidingclear
guidelinesonwhatisacceptable.
Idontagreewiththeslipperyslopeargumentat
all,saidprofessorAlisonMurdochofNewcastle
University,whichhasbeenattheforefrontof
mitochondrialresearchinBritain.Byhavingalegal
frameworkthatsaysyoucandothisbutyoucantdo
theotherwithoutcriminalsanctions,thereisan
absolutebarrier.

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