The first baby with the DNA of three people was born in the UK

British health authorities confirmed the first baby born by combining the DNA of three people, including parents and donors.

The baby was born by in vitro fertilization (IVF) combined with mitochondrial donation therapy (MDT). Doctors use egg tissue from healthy donors - creating IVF embryos free of harmful mutations - that the mother carries and is likely to pass on to her children. This is an effort to prevent rare genetic diseases.

Because the embryo combines sperm, egg from biological parents and part of mitochondria from a donor, the baby is born carrying the DNA of three people. Scientists used the phrase "baby with three parents" to describe this case, but more than 99.8% of the baby's DNA came from the biological parents.

The MDT technique was pioneered by doctors at Newcastle Fertility Center to help women with mutated mitochondria give birth without having a genetic disorder. These defects can lead to muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, cardiovascular and intellectual disability, making the sufferer carry the disease for a lifetime, even if the life expectancy is only a few years.

Scientists will take genetic material from eggs or embryos from biological mothers with faulty mitochondria, and then transfer them to eggs or donor embryos with healthy mitochondria (with other parts of the DNA removed) . The fertilized embryo is then inserted into the mother's uterus.

Illustrate the procedure of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Photo: iStock

Mitochondrial donation treatment prompted the UK Parliament to amend the law in 2015, setting regulations to accommodate the technique. Two years later, the Newcastle clinic became the first and only national center to be licensed.

Doctors at the clinic do not release details about births from this program because of concerns that the information may affect patients. However, on May 9, the UK's Human Embryology and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which is responsible for approving donations, confirmed the hospital had performed "less than five cases". " ever.

Many critics oppose artificial reproduction techniques, arguing that there are other ways to prevent mother-to-child transmission, such as egg donation or screening. Others warn that tweaking the genetic code in this way could create a new wave of health services. Parents will want to use the MDT technique to have a taller, healthier, smart, or good-looking baby.