Eight UK babies born with DNA from three people to prevent genetic illness
Eight children have been born in the United Kingdom using a pioneering fertility technique that combines the DNA of three people to prevent the transmission of incurable mitochondrial diseases, reports a Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
The method, developed by scientists at Newcastle University, involves using the egg and sperm of the parents along with healthy mitochondria from a donor woman. Children conceived through this technique inherit more than 99.9% of their DNA from their mother and father, with only a tiny fraction - about 0.1% - coming from the donor.
“This treatment gave us hope - and then it gave us our baby,” said one mother in a statement issued through Newcastle Fertility Centre. “We look at them now, full of life and possibility, and we’re overwhelmed with gratitude.”
The conditions targeted by this method are passed from mother to child and cause severe energy deficiency in cells, often leading to muscle weakness, brain damage, seizures, and even death in infancy. About one in every 5,000 babies is born with mitochondrial disease.
According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, 22 families underwent the procedure, resulting in eight births - four boys and four girls, including one set of twins - and one ongoing pregnancy. All babies were born free of mitochondrial disease and have met their expected developmental milestones.
“To see these babies alive, thriving and developing normally after years of fear is brilliant,” said Prof. Bobby McFarland, director of the NHS Highly Specialised Service for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders.
While minor health issues were observed in two children, none were linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. Researchers continue to monitor the long-term outcomes and refine the technique.
The UK remains the only country where this approach is legal, after Parliament approved the measure in 2015, marking a milestone in reproductive medicine and genetic disease prevention.
Earlier, a major breakthrough in genetics was reported as scientists at Rockefeller University successfully inserted a human gene into mice, resulting in notable changes in their vocalizations and providing new insights into the evolutionary origins of human speech.