Researchers moved a step closer to creating babies containing DNA from three people. However, the technique which is aimed at stopping the inheritance of genetic disease has been met with controversy. But it has also been found to produce healthy embryos that were indistinguishable to standard IVF embryos. Though none of these have been implanted yet, it is expected that they are viable, and will implant if placed in a womb.
The procedure known as "mitochondrial donation" replaces the natural but faulty DNA found in the mitochondria in a mother's egg, with healthy DNA from a second woman. This prevents the infant from inheriting certain genetic diseases that are passed on by their mothers.
The latest research led by the Wellcome Trust Centre of Mitochondrial Research in Newcastle, UK, worked by fertilizing a healthy egg with sperm in the usual way, and then removing the chromosomes from the egg before it had started to divide, placing them in a healthy egg taken from a second woman. By doing this, the researchers were able to create embryos that contained only 5 percent of the original mother's faulty mitochondrial DNA. In most cases, the embryos contained as little as 2 percent of the faulty DNA.
The next process was to compare the newly created embryos with those formed through standard IVF, and found no differences. However, other experiments have shown that the tiny bit of original mitochondrial DNA that is also transferred can increase in portion on developing fetuses could suggest that the genetic disease may persist, something that will now have to be tested.
There has been a lot of controversy about the creation of children who technically contain DNA from three parents. Besides the concerns about safety such as the procedure, there are more worry about the legality. The Catholic Church has also been vocal on the subject, saying its neither safe not ethical.
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