The British Office for Human Fertilization and Embryology (HFEA) announced that scientists are ready to create all the conditions for this, and the matter is only for the appropriate changes in legislation.
The technology of such fertilization, which will use the eggs of two women and the sperm of one man, is designed to fight deadly diseases caused by DNA defects transmitted through the maternal line.
These diseases are caused by damage to the mitochondria, the part of the cell that plays the role of its energy station. Mitochondria are passed on to the child only from the mother. One in 6500 babies in the world is born with mitochondrial disease, leading to muscular dystrophy, blindness, cardiac arrest, and in some cases death.
A scientific council convened by the HFEA analyzed two forms of in vitro fertilization using eggs and sperm from three people - expectant parents and a woman with healthy mitochondria.
Trials Needed
“The direction in which we are moving confirms the safety of this method, but we cannot fully predict what awaits us, so for now we are careful,” said one of the participants in this council, Professor Robin Lovel-Budge.
The HFEA report recommends a series of trials before this method is brought up for broader discussion. In the meantime, changes in legislation to allow such treatments are already being considered by the government.
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Professor Andy Greenfield, who chaired the council, said the safety issue of such treatment is not as simple as it might seem.
“Are these technologies safe for humans? We don’t know that until we test them in humans,”said Professor Greenfield.
“Until a healthy baby is born, we cannot say 100% that these technologies are safe. If you remember the times when IVF was an innovation, the same questions arose."
Mitochondria have their own tiny DNA - a closed circular double-stranded molecule, so the children born as a result of such fertilization will receive genetic inheritance from all three parents.
Ethical issues
Such treatment will be considered a form of gene therapy, since it causes genetic changes that will be passed on from generation to generation.
In this regard, ethical questions inevitably arise. Some opponents of such approaches to treatment fear that this is not far from experiments with genetic modification of humans. The British government approved this technology in principle.
"It would be right to introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as possible," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Professor Sally Davis.
The scientific research commissioned by the government is just a fraction of a broader consultation on this topic.
British health authorities are promising to release their findings from these consultations in the coming months. After that, the possible timing of the relevant changes in the legislation will become clear.
As soon as possible
A spokesman for the British Ministry of Health said: "The mitochondrial donation system will enable women with severe mitochondrial diseases to have children who will not suffer from this genetic inheritance."
"It will also confirm Britain's leadership in this area of scientific research," added a ministry spokesman.
“The scientific council has approved the use of these technologies to prevent the transmission of inherited mitochondrial diseases to a child,” said Sara Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust.
“We urge the government to implement legislative changes as soon as possible that will help many families suffering from mitochondrial diseases,” she added.