In addition to the genes of his mother and father, he received mitochondrial DNA from another woman
With the help of a special medical procedure involving the "transfer" of mitochondrial DNA from a donor to the embryo, the world's first "child from three parents" appeared in Mexico. It happened back in April this year, but the media learned about this event only recently. The boy was born healthy and is doing well at five months. While many scientists are inclined to consider what happened as a genuine scientific breakthrough, a number of public figures are concerned about the ethical aspect.
The technology used by American specialists to help Jordanians living in Mexico makes it possible to use not only the genetic material of the father and mother, but also the mitochondrial DNA of the second woman during in vitro fertilization. In some cases, this allows you to save the child from serious hereditary diseases transmitted through the maternal line, otherwise not too "interfering" with the genome of the embryo. The fact is, out of 23 thousand that make a person what he is, mitochondria contain only 37 genes. Moreover, if a boy is born, interference with the genome should not in any way affect his own children - as already mentioned, mitochondrial DNA is transmitted to children exclusively from the mother.
A Jordanian couple who turned to scientists for help faced difficulties due to the fact that the woman was a "passive" carrier of Leigh's syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the central nervous system. Although the woman herself, who is the carrier of those leading to this disease, does not herself suffer from the disease, two of her children died at an early age, and another pregnancy ended in miscarriage. The couple decided to turn to specialists with a request to solve their problem using the latest and somewhat experimental method.
At the time when specialists led by surgeon John Chan agreed to help the couple, the technology of embedding mitochondrial DNA into the embryo's genome was allowed only in Great Britain. However, the Mexican legislation did not contain either a direct permission or an outright ban on such practice, which is why scientists considered it permissible to apply the technology in the territory of this country.
In June, British experts said that clinical trials of the technology for the appearance of children from three parents are currently being carried out successfully, suggesting that this procedure may begin to be practiced in the country next year.
Dmitry Istrov