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Main idea

The congress of UK was the first to vote yes to three parent babies they were in favour thanks to the life saving cualities that this project has.

Arguments

During the debate against the critics who critiqued the technique the UK ministers said that this is the light at the end of the tunnel for many families.

During the debate the implications of these surgery were commented it was said that these type of surgery would kill and stop the transmission of these type of disease.

Defective mitochondria are passed by mothers to their children and can lead to brain damage, muscle weakness, blindness and heart failure.

One of the victims Sharon Bernardi lost all of her 7 children because of her mitochondrial disease so this new type of IVF helps her allot.

Dialogue

How much does this cost is it very expensive?

Summary

Three parent babies is a historical an a great advancement in to our society for the best we have gave opportunities to women that never thought to have the opportunity to have children by the same blood as theirs and not by adopting is giving a chance to woman that have tried and tried and tried a millions times and that not get the chance to get pregnant or if they do with the condition to pass their disease to their future children. This means that this IVF technique cuts the transmission of these diseases which mean that it stops difficulties of having all these diseases which involve brain damage loss of defences and heart failure. We have many examples such as sharon a mother that tried to have 7 children either by natural ways nad by IVF and did not achieve this goal 7 times. MPs say yes to three-person babies, By James Gallagher.(3 February 2015) REtrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-31069173

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MPs have voted in favour of the creation of babies with DNA from two women and one man, in a historic move.

The UK is now set to become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies from three people.

In a free vote in the Commons, 382 MPs were in favour and 128 against the technique that stops genetic diseases being passed from mother to child.

During the debate, ministers said the technique was "light at the end of a dark tunnel" for families.

A further vote is required in the House of Lords. It everything goes ahead then the first such baby could be born next year.

Proponents said the backing was "good news for progressive medicine" but critics say they will continue to fight against the technique that they say raises too many ethical and safety concerns.

Estimates suggest 150 three-person babies could be born each year.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We're not playing god here, we're just making sure that two parents who want a healthy baby can have one."

The method, which was developed in Newcastle, should help women like Sharon Bernardi, from Sunderland, who lost all seven of her children to mitochondrial disease.

Ms Bernadi said was "overwhelmed" by the decision.

Mitochondria are the tiny compartments inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into useable energy. They have their own DNA, which does not affect characteristics such as appearance.

Defective mitochondria are passed down only from the mother. They can lead to brain damage, muscle wasting, heart failure and blindness.

The technique uses a modified version of IVF to combine the DNA of the two parents with the healthy mitochondria of a donor woman.

It results in babies with 0.1% of their DNA from the second woman and is a permanent change that would be passed down through the generations.

In the Commons debate, Public Health Minister Jane Ellison told the House: "This is a bold step for parliament to take, but it is a considered and informed step.

"This is world leading science within a highly respected regulatory regime.

"And for the many families affected, this is light at the end of a very dark tunnel."

Fiona Bruce, the MP for Congleton, countered: "[This] will be passed down generations, the implications of this simply cannot be predicted.

"But one thing is for sure, once this alteration has taken place, as someone has said, once the gene is out of the bottle, once these procedures that we're asked to authorise today go ahead, there will be no going back for society."

The debate in Commons also repeatedly struggled with whether the move would constitute "genetic modification".

Robert Flello, who represents Stoke-on-Trent South, said he feared "families will be let down tragically" due to the uncertainties in the technique and that society would be "up in arms" if this was a proposal for genetically modified crops.

But Frank Dobson, a former former health secretary, argued uncertainty was "the nature of medicine and science" and that IVF would not have gone ahead if absolute certainty was needed.

Prof Doug Turnbull, who led the team that devised the technique at Newcastle University, said: "This is an important hurdle in the development of this new IVF technique, but we still have the debate in the House of Lords, and importantly the licensing by the HFEA [the fertility regulator].

"Finally, I think the quality of the debate today shows what a robust scientific, ethical and legislative procedure we have in the UK for IVF treatments.

"This is important and something the UK should rightly be proud of."

The Chief Medical Officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said the UK was at the forefront of scientific development.

By James Gallagher, Health editor, BBC News website

This is a hugely significant moment for the families involved and society as a whole.

The UK is about to become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies with DNA from three people.

For the families affected by mitochondrial disease, this is the only option for a healthy child.

While some people argue changing mitochondria is akin to a blood transplant the implications are much wider.

This is a change that will be passed down through the generations.

It also asks questions about the future.

Some people argue we are now on a slippery slope to further genetic modification of children.

Last week the Catholic and Anglican Churches in England said the idea was not safe or ethical, not least because it involved the destruction of embryos.

Other groups, including Human Genetics Alert, say the move would open the door to further genetic modification of children in the future - so-called designer babies, genetically modified for beauty, intelligence or to be free of disease.

David King, from the campaign group, said: "Once you cross the ethical line, it is very hard not to take the next step of designer babies."

Dr Gillian Lockwood, a reproductive ethicist, told the BBC it was a "small change" in the legislation.

"The biggest problem is that this has been described as three-parent IVF. In fact it is 2.001-parent IVF," she said.

"Less than a tenth of one per cent of the genome is actually going to be affected. It is not part of what makes us genetically who we are.

"It doesn't affect height, eye colour, intelligence, musicality."

A review by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, as well as a public consultation by the fertility regulator, argued the creation of three-person babies was ethical.

Three scientific reviews by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) suggest the technique is "not unsafe".

Yet some scientists argue those reviews were flawed.

Dr Ted Morrow, from the University of Sussex, believes there are still uncertainties.

"I have some concerns about the safety, I'm really not happy that the reviews have been as exemplary as other people think they are."

Prof Lisa Jardine, former chair of the HFEA, said the safety issue was a "red herring".

"All of those issues have been investigated," she said. "The scientific committees have said there is no evidence this procedure is unsafe but like all good scientists, they say it will require careful progress."

Bishop of Swindon Dr Lee Rayfield said this procedure was a "massive step" and some of his colleagues were concerned about how it was going to be regulated once approved.

"If the safeguards are there, the Church of England will be behind this," he added.

Rachel Kean, whose aunt died from mitochondrial disease, told BBC Breakfast that a yes vote would "prevent some of the cruellest and most devastating diseases, not just for the next generation but generations after".

She said there had been an "unprecedented" amount of scrutiny into the regulation and a lot of misinformation about "designer babies".

The HFEA is expected to give Newcastle a licence to carry out the procedure.

The first attempt could take place this year, which could lead to the first birth in 2016.

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MPs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the creation of babies with DNA from two women and one man, in a historic move.

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Main idea:

The first three-parent baby is made by a special treatment that tries to assure that the child inherits incurable diseases and it is done through a mitochondrial donation transfer.

Dialogue:

Can anyone go throw the process of having a three-child baby?

How much time does the process go on for?

Facts:

Tissues' eggs of a healthy donor are estracted for an IVF embryo

The embryo combines the egg and the sperm of the biological parents

The baby can develop diseases if he inherits a lot of mitochondria

The treatment has lots of parts and most have a high risk of going wrong

Summary:

The first three-parent baby was made through a mitochondrial donation through a special treatment that uses the eggs tissue of a healthy female donor to create IVF embryos. The problem is that there are a lot of women that have mutated mitochondria or genetic disorders so they try that this doesn't happen. Normally, the mutations affect that affect the mitochondria then affect energy-hungry tissues such as the heart, the muscles, the brain, etc. This affects the child growth or can make that the child eventually gets diseases.

The first three-parent baby is made by mitochondrial donation treatment that uses

Sample, I. (2023, 9 May) First UK baby with DNA from three people born after new IVF procedure. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/may/09/first-uk-baby-with-dna-from-three-people-born-after-new-ivf-procedure

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The first UK baby created with DNA from three people has been born after doctors performed a groundbreaking IVF procedure that aims to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseases.

The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), uses tissue from the eggs of healthy female donors to create IVF embryos that are free from harmful mutations their mothers carry and are likely to pass on to their children.

Because the embryos combine sperm and egg from the biological parents with tiny battery-like structures called mitochondria from the donor's egg, the resulting baby has DNA from the mother and father as usual, plus a small amount of genetic material - about 37 genes - from the donor.

The process has led to the phrase "three-parent babies", though more than 99.8% of the DNA in the babies comes from the mother and father.

Research on MDT, which is also known as mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), was pioneered in the UK by doctors at the Newcastle Fertility Centre. The work aimed to help women with mutated mitochondria to have babies without the risk of passing on genetic disorders. People inherit all their mitochondria from their mother, so harmful mutations in the "batteries" can affect all of the children a woman has.

For affected women, natural conception is often a gamble. Some babies might be born healthy because they inherit only a tiny proportion of the mutated mitochondria. But others may inherit far more and develop severe, progressive and often fatal diseases. About one in 6,000 babies are affected by mitochondrial disorders.

Most of a human's 20,000 genes are coiled up in the nucleus of nearly every cell in the body. But dotted around each nucleus are thousands of mitochondria with their own genes. When functioning properly, the mitochondria provide vital energy for the cells that make up our organs. Mutations that damage the mitochondria tend to affect energy-hungry tissues most: the brain, heart, muscles, and liver. These can deteriorate relentlessly as an affected child grows.

Progress with MDT led parliament to change the law in 2015 to permit the procedure. Two years later, the Newcastle clinic became the first and only national centre licensed to perform it, with the first cases approved in 2018. Approval is given on a case-by-case basis by the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which has given the green light for at least 30 cases.

Doctors at the Newcastle clinic have not released details of births from its MDT programme, amid concerns that specific information could compromise patient confidentiality. But in response to a freedom of information request by the Guardian, the HFEA confirmed that a small number of babies have now been born in the UK after MDT.

The regulator said the number of births was "less than five" rather than giving the precise figure, because doing so "could lead to the identification of a person to whom the HFEA owes a duty of confidentiality". The number was accurate as of late April 2023, it said. No further details of the births were provided.

The treatment programme was substantially delayed by the pandemic, which the Guardian understands deterred some donors from coming forwards and affected couples hoping to go ahead with the therapy.

The Newcastle process has several steps. First, sperm from the father is used to fertilise eggs from the affected mother and a healthy female donor. The nuclear genetic material from the donor's egg is then removed and replaced with that from the couple's fertilised egg. The resulting egg has a full set of chromosomes from both parents, but carries the donor's healthy mitochondria instead of the mother's faulty ones. This is then implanted in the womb.

The procedure is not without risks. Recent research has found that in some cases, the tiny number of abnormal mitochondria that are inevitably carried over from the mother's egg to the donor egg can multiply when the baby is in the womb. So-called reversion or reversal could lead to a disease in the child. "The reason why reversal is seen in the cells of some children born following MRT procedures, but not in others, is not fully understood," said Dagan Wells, a professor of reproductive genetics at the University of Oxford who took part in the research.

Women with mitochondrial mutations can avoid passing on disorders by adopting or having IVF with a donor egg. Or, to have genetically related children, affected women can have their IVF embryos screened for mitochondrial mutations. Though effective in many cases, this reduces the risk rather than removing it completely, and it cannot help when all of the embryos a woman produces have highly mutated mitochondria.

The UK is not the first country to create babies from MDT. In 2016, a US doctor announced the world's first MDT birth after treating a Jordanian woman who carried mitochondrial mutations that cause a fatal condition called Leigh syndrome. Prior to the treatment, performed in Mexico, the woman had four miscarriages and two children. One died aged six, the other lived for only eight months.

"So far, the clinical experience with MRT has been encouraging, but the number of reported cases is far too small to draw any definitive conclusions about the safety or efficacy," said Wells. "Long-term follow-up of the children born is essential. The stage of development when reversal happens is unclear, but it probably occurs at a very early stage. This means that prenatal testing, carried out [at] about 12 weeks of pregnancy, may well succeed in identifying if reversal has occurred."

Sarah Norcross, the director of Pet, a charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions, said it was important for the technology to be used in a "measured and carefully regulated way" while it is assessed. "It is also very important that we respect the privacy of children with donated mitochondria, and their parents, not least because these parents are likely to have had prior experience of illness and bereavement in their family," she added.

Peter Thompson, chief executive at the HFEA, said: "MDT offers families with severe inherited mitochondrial illness the possibility of a healthy child. The UK was the first country in the world to allow MDT within a regulatory environment ... These are still early days for MDT and the HFEA continues to review clinical and scientific developments."

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First UK baby with DNA from three people born after new IVF procedure

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The first UK baby created with DNA from three people has been born after doctors performed a groundbreaking IVF procedure that aims to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseases. The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), uses tissue from the eggs of healthy female donors to create IVF embryos that are free from harmful mutations their mothers carry and are likely to pass on to their children.

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Main idea:

There is a new baby born that was made with a special technique by having the DNA of his mother and father and a very small quantity of a female donor. This baby was born with a special technique to not have any mitochondrial diseases.

Dialogue:

How much money does it cost to have a three parent baby?

They have been trying for decades to try to have a three parent baby with a healthy lifestile

Arguments/Facts:

The mitochondria is passed by the female donor and there can be mutations

Pronuclear transfer is one of the tecniques to stop mitochondrial diseases

If the baby eventually had some mitochondrial diseases the problem would be that there is no cure.

The cytoplasmic transfer was another way of producing three-parent babies except they were not controlling the mitochondria or cytoplasm

Summary:

The first three-parent baby was born after three decades trying to make a three parent baby with healthy mitochondria and without mutations. The cytoplasmic transfer was a method for the technique that they used to make this three-parent baby that from a female donor they estract a small percentage of the cytoplasm and they inject it into the egg. There is also the pronuclear method that is when the donor's eggs and the mother's eggs get fertilised at the same time and then the nucleus from the donors eggs and the mother's eggs are taken out and put in the donor's eggs. The spidle transfer is when the chromosomes from the mother's eggs are extracted and transfered into the donor's eggs.

Hesman, T. (October 18, 2016) ‘Three-parent babies’ explained. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/three-parent-babies-explained

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IVF technique that led to recent birth of boy one of several

A 6-month-old baby boy may have opened the door to a new world of reproductive medicine. He is the first person born from a controversial new technique for preventing mitochondrial diseases by creating a "three-parent baby" - a child in which the vast majority of DNA comes from the mother and father and a small amount of DNA comes from a female donor.

Mitochondria are organelles inside cells that, among other tasks, generate energy. The organelles are passed from mother to child. Mutations in the 37 genes housed inside mitochondria can lead to fatal inherited diseases that affect organs that need lots of energy, such as the brain and muscles. There is no cure or effective treatment for many of the mitochondrial diseases.

Some of the mitochondria in the baby boy's mother's cells have a mutation that causes

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IVF technique that led to recent birth of boy one of several A 6-month-old baby boy may have opened the door to a new world of reproductive medicine.

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Three-parent babies: Main arguments for and against ahead of crucial MPs vote

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Three-parent babies: Main arguments for and against ahead of crucial MPs vote

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Main ideas

Three parent babies could help more than 2.400 in the UK because they do not want to risk having a baby that could have furthered problems but there are controversial opinions.

Arguments

For

The security of the mother and the child will always be the most important and nothing will be done without the full consentment.

The mitochondrial transfer only affects the 0.1 percent of the children's DNA and does not affect any type of facial features.

Against

Experts say that a mitochondrial transplant is a bit unethical and that it shouldn’t be done because we don't know what the consequences may be at long distance.

Epigenetic are seen as another problem since  the environmental influences that can affect genes work either switching them on or off or more things.

Dialogue

I didn’t know that so many people could benefit from this transfer and it is really amazing how this can be cured by only doing one transfer.

Summary

Three parent babies are a really controversial points in every part of the world but the UK is the first countrie to approve the creation of three parent babies in the hole world but there is very controversial opinions about this here we find some.

For: In when doing the operation nothing will be done without the consentiment of the mother and father same as nothing will be done to the mitochondria without the consentment of the donor. It is know that the transfer does not change any type of physical feature in the child since it only counts as a 0,1 percent of the DNA.

Against: There is many controversial thoughts about this and most of them are from critics that say that this shouldn't be done due to ethical reasons and to future reasons because we do not know how this mitochondrial transfer can react in the future.Three-parent babies: Main arguments for and against ahead of crucial MPs vote By Heather Saul.(3 February 2015) Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/threeparent-babies-main-arguments-for-and-against-ahead-of-crucial-mps-vote-10019901.html

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Main idea:

The mitochondrial DNA transfer is when the egg has a defective mitochondria and they exchange it with a healthy female donor one so that the baby doesn't have any diseases. It is kind of controversial because of the baby having two mothers.

Dialogue:

When do they know that the mitochndria is defective?

Do the female donors have any contact with the baby?

Arguments/Facts:

For

It is good because patients with mitochondrial diseases could still have a baby

The baby will have a better condition to not get diseases for the defective mitochondria

There is no cure if the baby will have diseases because the mitochondria so it's better for another female to give it

Against

Three-parent babies have a great risk of getting cancer and they should be monitored all their lives

It's an extremely difficult thing and it has many risks during the procedure

The babies would have developmental diseases and they could also have cancer.

Summary:

Some people believe that the three parent baby is a good idea and is the solution for a lot of problems for example the people with mitochondrial diseases could still have babies and wouldn't have any problems. There are some people that are against three parent babes because they believ that is not ethical and because the babes would have a possibility of getting cancer so they would have to be monitored by a doctor all throughout their lives, the processes are extremely difficult and it would be very hard that everything goes as planed, also the babies could also develop more diseases. However, there are other people who believe that there is no problem in three parent babies due to the fact that the women that have mitochondrial diseases could still have a baby without the baby having the mitochondrial mutations that the mother has, so the baby wouldn't have the possibility to inherit the deffective mitochondria and if the baby had the mother's mitochondria inherited and the mitochondria had a mutation, the baby would get a disease that there is no cure for

Knapton, S. (03 February, 2015) Three-parent babies arguments for and against. Retrieved from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11386151/Three-parent-babies-the-arguments-for-and-against.html

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The issue of three-parent babies has divided the scientific community and thrown up a host of ethical concerns. Here are the arguments for and against the new procedure, which proposes to mend faulty DNA with genetic material from a 'second mother'

Mitochondrial DNA transfer, which was developed by British scientists, allows IVF clinics to replace an egg's defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy DNA from a female donor, to prevent children suffering debilitating conditions like muscular dystrophy.

It is controversial because it would result in babies having DNA from three people - and effectively, two mothers.

Advocates of the new procedure say around 2,500 women could benefit from mitochondrial donation in Britain, equating to around 150 births a year.

The procedure has been developed by scientists at Newcastle University.

"It is important to remember that mitochondrial DNA represents less than 0.054 per cent of the total DNA, and is not part of the nuclear DNA, which determines our personal characteristics and traits such as personality, hair and eye colour.

"It is only right that we introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can so we can give hope to hundreds of UK families. "

Mr Robert Meadowcroft, Chief Executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, said: "A vote in favour of regulations could give women the chance to have a healthy child without the fear of passing on this painful, debilitating condition.

"This is an important step and while we understand some people will have reservations, this technique has moved successfully through the necessary ethical and public reviews, and a positive result in this debate is now vital to allow further progress."

"Now, after years of careful research, we are finally at a point where a cure for mitochondrial disorders may be within reach. There has been an opportunity for public consultation and this has revealed broad support for the use of this therapy under appropriate regulation. The most telling thing is the support for mitochondrial donation from affected families.

"None of us can understand the impact of a mitochondrial disorder as well as they do, so their voices need to be heard. The way in which rigorous scientific research and vigorous public debate have been carried out in parallel in this instance will serve as a model for how ethically challenging scientific advances should be considered for clinical use in the future."

However experts have warned that three-parent babies could be at greater risk of cancer and premature ageing, and would need to be monitored all their lives.

They have warned that MPs would be making an 'historic mistake' by passing new laws.

"We do not yet know the interaction between the mitochondria and nuclear DNA. To say that it is the same as changing a battery is facile. It's an extremely complex thing."

"There are numerous serious risks associated with this technology. These include most notably the possibility that developmentally disabled or deceased babies will be produced.

"Aberrations could lead to developmental defects in babies or also manifest in later life as increased rates of ageing of cancer."

Scientists at Great Ormond Street and University College London say that just 80 per cent of mitochondrial disease is actually caused by the mutation in the mitochondria and more time should be spent looking for genetic faults in the nucleus.

"I think it does effect the person in a very fundamental way even if it is very small. That is a permanent change and will be inherited by their descendants. It's not a cure for disease it is the creating of a different person.

"You are not curing somebody of something you are creating someone different. It is different from other medical People have compared it to blood transfusions. That is simply wrong. In a blood transfusion that will not pass on characteristics to their descendants."

"Remember Dolly the sheep? She died prematurely of an infection but the method used to clone her is similar to MR techniques," he said.

"There are a number of published studies that indicate genetic variation in the mitochondrial DNA influences an individual's personality

"So swapping out the mitochondrial DNA from one person and replacing it with another will undoubtedly influence many different characteristics of an individual."

44 MEPs have also written an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, expressing concerns about the procedure, and warning that the UK may be breaking European laws in seeking to modify the germ line.

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Three-parent babies: the arguments for and against

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The issue of three-parent babies has divided the scientific community and thrown up a host of ethical concerns. Here are the arguments for and against the new procedure, which proposes to mend faulty DNA with genetic material from a 'second mother'

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Main idea:

The three-parent baby has many types. It means that three parents make a baby and that baby has the genetic information of the three parents. The father supplies the sperm, the mother the both womb and the egg nucleus and another mother or father a healthy mitochondria.

Dialogue:

Using this new technique, there would not be any risk? There would not have any infection for the parents?

Arguments/Facts:

The three-parent baby can be a new way of preventing the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases.

In Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), embryos of the couple at risk of having an affected child are generated in a test tube.

A problem is the high level of damaging mtDNA in the mother’s egg before the procedure was carried out is not told.

Summary:

It is a new technique letting the persons that have risk on having their own children because of issues or disease to have their own genetic children but with three persons. This is developing in many places such as the UK and US. This new way wants to prevent the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases. The mitochondria is very important and it also can cause illness. MtDNA mutations can cause a range of illnesses, including deafness, blindness, diabetes, and heart and liver failure. It can get worse by the higher damage and it does not have a curse. There is the MRT, that in this topic it is very important that is the mitochondrial replacement therapy. This was one of the choices that the mother could take. The things is embryos of the couple at risk of having an affected child are generated in a test tube. In this case the

mothers eggs is removed the nucleus that contains all genetic material and more. After, it is placed into an healthy mitochondrial egg. Then, fertilised with the father’s sperm and the embryo is placed in the mother's egg and developed into the baby. With this they have done experiments with monkeys and mice to be sure that all is healthy and safe.

Poulton, J. (n.d) Three-parent baby raises issues of long-term health risks. Retrieved from: https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/three-parent-baby-raises-issues-long-term-health-risks#:~:text=This%20means%20the%20baby%20has,by%20far%20the%20smallest%20contribution

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A baby boy, the first child to be born using a new technique that incorporates DNA from three people, is now five months old. It is great news - the birth of a healthy baby conceived by this new procedure is a major step forward and will lead to a new way of preventing the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases.
Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells. They generate energy for all life processes. One in 400 people has a maternally-inherited mutation in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the blueprint for some vital mitochondrial components. MtDNA mutations can cause a range of illnesses, including deafness, blindness, diabetes, and heart and liver failure. People with these disorders usually have both normal and damaged mtDNA, the symptoms being generally worse the higher the dose of damaged mtDNA. Sadly, there are no cures.

In Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), embryos of the couple at risk of having an affected child are generated in a test tube. In this case, the nucleus that contains all of the genetic material apart from the mitochondria was removed from the mother's egg and placed into an egg with healthy mitochondria, from which the nucleus had been removed. The egg was then fertilised with the father's sperm and the resulting embryo was placed in the mother's womb where it developed into the baby.

This means the baby has three genetic parents: the father who supplied the sperm, the mother who supplied both womb and the egg nucleus, and an anonymous donor who supplied healthy mitochondria. Of these, the mitochondrial DNA is by far the smallest contribution. This type of three-parent baby is new, although other types have existed for many years.

MRT is being developed by groups in the UK and US to help the families of patients who have mitochondrial disease with a high recurrence risk in future children.

Unknown long-term effects

While experiments on monkeys and mice suggested that such babies would probably be healthy, this procedure hadn't been used in humans until now. Eggs are highly organised cells. Replacing the nucleus does not prevent development into a baby, but it causes damage to the cell that probably requires radical re-organisation. So, the effects of such manipulations are still unknown and could cause problems later in life, such as an increased chance of diabetes.

According to a New Scientist report, the mother of the child, a Jordanian woman, had been trying for a family for 20 years. Her two children both died of Leigh syndrome - aged eight months, and six. The woman had a high risk of having further affected children.

In many countries, the mother would have been given other choices before MRT was offered. First, she would have been offered eggs from an unrelated healthy donor. These could be fertilised with her partner's sperm and put into her womb, preventing transmission of the mitochondrial disease completely. The woman with mtDNA disease is then the biological but not the genetic mother. Being born to a woman who is not your genetic parent may be acceptable to some people, given that perhaps up to one in 10 people in the UK do not identify their genetic fathers correctly - but it may have been unacceptable to this family.

She would have also been offered pre-implantation genetic diagnosis whereby several embryos can be tested at an early stage and the best one selected to be placed in the mother's womb. However, this was reportedly not ethically acceptable to this family.

The birth of a healthy baby after this technique is a big step forward. In the past related manipulations to improve "oocyte mitochondrial quality" have been carried out - so called "ooplasm donation" which involves donor mitochondria that are injected into a germ cell in the ovary (an oocyte). But this procedure reportedly caused genetic defects and perhaps autism in one case.

While it is not yet possible to give the latest baby a decisive "all clear", he carries a low level of the damaging mutation, making it highly unlikely that he will develop Leigh syndrome.

The known unknowns

However, there are two more details of the story that could affect what happens next. First, the procedure could be termed "medical tourism": it was done in Mexico by a team based in New York City, so it was not covered by US regulations, which do not permit the procedure. The Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Ethical and Social Policy Considerations of Novel Techniques for Prevention of Maternal Transmission of Mitochondrial DNA Diseases declined to give regulatory approval for clinical use of the procedure until research to answer critical safety and efficacy questions has been done.

Another problem is that we are not told how high the level of damaging mtDNA was in the mother's egg before the procedure was carried out - a detail that indicates how likely the child was to be severely affected at the outset. If the level and hence the risk was high, this is a laudable technical advance that has massively reduced the child's chance of suffering a severe illness. If the level was low and compatible with a healthy life, then a procedure with significant unknowns might have been done unnecessarily - illustrating how much we need regulation to protect the rights of the future child. Reports do not clarify these vital details.

This story is the beginning of a new treatment with massive potential for good. However, rigorous regulation and checks on the unknowns of this new and controversial technology are needed.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Three-parent baby raises issues of long-term health risks

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A baby boy, the first child to be born using a new technique that incorporates DNA from three people, is now five months old. It is great news - the birth of a healthy baby conceived by this new procedure is a major step forward and will lead to a new way of preventing the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases.Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells.

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Main idea:

Things that happened in the past nowadays are things coming back and they are investigating it. For example mitochondria is like the battery of the cell or powerhouse of the cell and it’s what provides the energy for all the cells in our body. Some of the women that carry the  mitochondria DNA have a risk of having children because of devastating diseases.

Dialogue:

This video tells us many things about what would happen if a woman has a risk of children from devastating diseases and children would have problems such as us: blindness, dying very young, diabetes and more things. Also about new investigations with some important doctors.

Argument/Facts:

taking the nuclear DNA out of a woman's eggs and putting it in another egg with healthy mitochondria.

They made the experiments on the monkey to be sure it is the same for humans and be comfortable and safe.

In the past about 1990’s doctors made projects about it, there were achievements and failures.

News papers in New York as the front page the crazy doctor in New York that is making babies with three parents.

Summary:

The doctors had ideas of taking the nuclear DNA out of a woman's eggs and putting it in another egg with healthy mitochondria and fertilising the egg and producing an embryo and transferring it to the woman and producing the child.

They had first made the experiments on the monkey so they would be sure it is the same for humans and be comfortable and safe.

In the past about 1990’s there were similar situations and the doctors where doing projects about it, there were achievements and failures.

The front page of the newspaper of Washington was very gross by putting the crazy doctor in New York that is making babies with three parents but in real they only want to help people and of course those mother that have mitochondria disease.

World science festival. (May 30, 2014) Making a baby with three parents. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPAg50-ciZM&t=42s

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Main idea:

Three parent babies focus on reducing mutations that happen in the mitochondria and that then produce certain diseases that happen.

Argument facts:

The ideas of 3 parent babies started in the 1990 and the 2000 when a novel IVF technique was developed known as the ooplasmic transfer

Ooplasmic transfer was introduced as another type of IVF technique mainly used to help mothers that were not fertile and had mitochondrial diseases.

But the success that the technique had was so amazing that scientists started trying this more and more to a point that the formation of 3 parent babies was really restricted or even banned.

In 2015 IVF of three parent babies was legalised in the United Kingdom with the good purpose of preventing genetic diseases.

Dialogue

For me it's amazing how even without the technologies of nowadays people still tried to have 3 parent babies in the 1990 and the 2000.

Summary

The idea of three parent babies was developed many years ago to prevent these mutations that happen in the mitochondria and then are transferred to the child.

In 1990 there was the first try of 3 parent babies and in 2000 this became much more famous amongst scientists and it since there was so much abuse on it they it had to be turned down until 2015 were it was allowed again.

Even though the first three parent baby (made in the UK) was made with a lot of precision and delicacy critics said that they were unsure about the certain health issues the baby could have.

But during these years information has been recopilated about how many women could this transfer help and it could help a lot of women including women that have already tried with other IVF techniques.

Three parent babies. Kara Rogers(No Date) Retrieved from:https://www.britannica.com/science/three-parent-baby

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Three-parent baby | Definition, Process, History, & Facts

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Three-parent baby, human offspring produced from the genetic material of one man and two women through the use of assisted reproductive technologies, specifically mitochondrial replacement therapy and three-person in vitro fertilization.

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Main idea:

The mitochondrial DNA transfer is when the egg has a defective mitochondria and they exchange it with a healthy female donor one so that the baby doesn't have any diseases. It is kind of controversial because of the baby having two mothers.

Dialogue:

When do they know that the mitochndria is defective?

Do the female donors have any contact with the baby?

Arguments/Facts:

For

It is good because patients with mitochondrial diseases could still have a baby

The baby will have a better condition to not get diseases for the defective mitochondria

There is no cure if the baby will have diseases because the mitochondria so it's better for another female to give it

Against

Three-parent babies have a great risk of getting cancer and they should be monitored all their lives

It's an extremely difficult thing and it has many risks during the procedure

The babies would have developmental diseases and they could also have cancer.

Summary:

Some people believe that the three parent baby is a good idea and is the solution for a lot of problems for example the people with mitochondrial diseases could still have babies and wouldn't have any problems. There are some people that are against three parent babes because they believ that is not ethical and because the babes would have a possibility of getting cancer so they would have to be monitored by a doctor all throughout their lives, the processes are extremely difficult and it would be very hard that everything goes as planed, also the babies could also develop more diseases. However, there are other people who believe that there is no problem in three parent babies due to the fact that the women that have mitochondrial diseases could still have a baby without the baby having the mitochondrial mutations that the mother has, so the baby wouldn't have the possibility to inherit the deffective mitochondria and if the baby had the mother's mitochondria inherited and the mitochondria had a mutation, the baby would get a disease that there is no cure for

Knapton, S. (03 February, 2015) Three-parent babies arguments for and against. Retrieved from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11386151/Three-parent-babies-the-arguments-for-and-against.html

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The issue of three-parent babies has divided the scientific community and thrown up a host of ethical concerns. Here are the arguments for and against the new procedure, which proposes to mend faulty DNA with genetic material from a 'second mother'

Mitochondrial DNA transfer, which was developed by British scientists, allows IVF clinics to replace an egg's defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy DNA from a female donor, to prevent children suffering debilitating conditions like muscular dystrophy.

It is controversial because it would result in babies having DNA from three people - and effectively, two mothers.

Advocates of the new procedure say around 2,500 women could benefit from mitochondrial donation in Britain, equating to around 150 births a year.

The procedure has been developed by scientists at Newcastle University.

"It is important to remember that mitochondrial DNA represents less than 0.054 per cent of the total DNA, and is not part of the nuclear DNA, which determines our personal characteristics and traits such as personality, hair and eye colour.

"It is only right that we introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can so we can give hope to hundreds of UK families. "

Mr Robert Meadowcroft, Chief Executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, said: "A vote in favour of regulations could give women the chance to have a healthy child without the fear of passing on this painful, debilitating condition.

"This is an important step and while we understand some people will have reservations, this technique has moved successfully through the necessary ethical and public reviews, and a positive result in this debate is now vital to allow further progress."

"Now, after years of careful research, we are finally at a point where a cure for mitochondrial disorders may be within reach. There has been an opportunity for public consultation and this has revealed broad support for the use of this therapy under appropriate regulation. The most telling thing is the support for mitochondrial donation from affected families.

"None of us can understand the impact of a mitochondrial disorder as well as they do, so their voices need to be heard. The way in which rigorous scientific research and vigorous public debate have been carried out in parallel in this instance will serve as a model for how ethically challenging scientific advances should be considered for clinical use in the future."

However experts have warned that three-parent babies could be at greater risk of cancer and premature ageing, and would need to be monitored all their lives.

They have warned that MPs would be making an 'historic mistake' by passing new laws.

"We do not yet know the interaction between the mitochondria and nuclear DNA. To say that it is the same as changing a battery is facile. It's an extremely complex thing."

"There are numerous serious risks associated with this technology. These include most notably the possibility that developmentally disabled or deceased babies will be produced.

"Aberrations could lead to developmental defects in babies or also manifest in later life as increased rates of ageing of cancer."

Scientists at Great Ormond Street and University College London say that just 80 per cent of mitochondrial disease is actually caused by the mutation in the mitochondria and more time should be spent looking for genetic faults in the nucleus.

"I think it does effect the person in a very fundamental way even if it is very small. That is a permanent change and will be inherited by their descendants. It's not a cure for disease it is the creating of a different person.

"You are not curing somebody of something you are creating someone different. It is different from other medical People have compared it to blood transfusions. That is simply wrong. In a blood transfusion that will not pass on characteristics to their descendants."

"Remember Dolly the sheep? She died prematurely of an infection but the method used to clone her is similar to MR techniques," he said.

"There are a number of published studies that indicate genetic variation in the mitochondrial DNA influences an individual's personality

"So swapping out the mitochondrial DNA from one person and replacing it with another will undoubtedly influence many different characteristics of an individual."

44 MEPs have also written an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, expressing concerns about the procedure, and warning that the UK may be breaking European laws in seeking to modify the germ line.

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Three-parent babies: the arguments for and against

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The issue of three-parent babies has divided the scientific community and thrown up a host of ethical concerns. Here are the arguments for and against the new procedure, which proposes to mend faulty DNA with genetic material from a 'second mother'

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What is the value of three parent babies

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What is the value of three parent babies

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Main idea

The first three parent babies are made to ensure that mothers with incurable diseases can have healthy babies and not transfit their own diseases to their babies.  Although many critics are not  in favour of this.

Arguments

In february 2016  United states posted a report talking about the ethical and social-policy implications and the benefits of three parent children. From then the IOM enforced the policy of the trials in three parent babies.

It is called Mitochondrial replacement. It is a really risky intervention which involves the DNA of the father and the mother and the DNA of a mitochondrial egg donor. This helps mothers with mitochondrial diseases have babies.

But critics from all over the world have criticised this very much. They have pointed out the ethical , genetic and the possibility of exploitation of the third parent egg donor and have pointed out that it is unnatural and non-traditional.

But all this wont make mitochondrial diseases disappear or it will not kill other people it will simply create healthy lives for people that have had diseases.

Dialogue

What are the complications that can make this unsafe? And can they be prevented?

Summary

In 2015 the first three parent IVF baby was born in the UK one year later the USA did a document about the why is this advancement so important and why having three parent babies is so good they explained the ethical reasons and were in collaboration of the local minister of sanity and the IOM.

The intervention called mitochondrial transfer was a bit risky since it involved the DNA of the mother, the DNA of the father and the mitocondrias of the donor so it is really important that nothing goes wrong.

Critics from all the world have criticised the exploitation of the donor but it is proved that the donor will never be explotated. What is the Value of three-parent IVF. Tina Rulli,(19 May 2016) Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27198755/#:~:text=Critics%20have%20pointed%20to%20ethical,which%20undermines%20natural%20and%20traditional

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Abstract

In February 2016, the Institute of Medicine released a report, commissioned by the United States Food and Drug Administration, on the ethical and social-policy implications of so-called three-parent in vitro fertilization. The IOM endorses commencement of clinical trials on three-parent IVF, subject to some initial limitations. Also called mitochondrial replacement or transfer, three-parent IVF is an intervention comprising two distinct procedures in which the genetic materials of three people-the DNA of the father and mother and the mitochondrial DNA of an egg donor-can be used to create a child. Three-parent IVF would enable a woman with mitochondrial disease to have a genetically related child without transmitting the disease to the child. The possibility for three-parent children has prompted criticism from many corners. Critics have pointed to ethical issues including safety concerns and risks to children, genetic and germline engineering concerns, the potential exploitation of the third-parent egg donor, donor anonymity and privacy, and objections to creating babies with three parents, which undermines natural and traditional conceptions of procreation. Additionally, developing the technology would involve experimenting on, manipulating, and disposing of embryos. Although the IOM report considers the ethical concerns about the value of the three-parent IVF technology, the IOM failed to give due attention to an important objection to the development of this technology: three-parent IVF lacks the social value necessary to make investment of public resources in it ethical. Unlike the other concerns, this objection is not based on conservativism about new reproductive technologies or default favoritism of the status quo. I argue that the technology does not meet a plausible social value standard to render public research investment into its development ethical. Proponents of three-parent IVF make inaccurate and exaggerated claims that it will eradicate mitochondrial disease and save lives. Were these claims true, proponents would have a strong case for the social value of the technology. But three-parent IVF alone will not eradicate mitochondrial disease, and it will not save lives. Rather, it can create healthy lives. As I discuss, the moral distinction is crucial. Most importantly, investment in three-parent IVF comes at the opportunity cost of researching treatment for mitochondrial disease that would benefit actual, living disease sufferers.

Similar articles

The ethics of creating children with three genetic parents.

Baylis F. Baylis F. Reprod Biomed Online. 2013 Jun;26(6):531-4. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2013.03.006. Epub 2013 Mar 26. Reprod Biomed Online. 2013. PMID: 23608245

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mitochondrial diseases / prevention & control*

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national center for biotechnology information

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What Is the Value of Three-Parent IVF? - PubMed

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In February 2016, the Institute of Medicine released a report, commissioned by the United States Food and Drug Administration, on the ethical and social-policy implications of so-called three-parent in vitro fertilization. The IOM endorses commencement of clinical trials on three-parent IVF, subject ...

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Main idea:

It says that they have been doing investigations about using sperm and egg cells from three different people to make a single embryo, which is fine. It is a way for people who have problems or illnesses to have healthy children from their blood.

Dialogue:

This website is very interesting, for example telling how the mitochondria is in the egg cell, and what it helps or does. Also process part of the mother and process parts of the father.

Argument/Facts:

The Food and Drug Administration should carefully regulate such experiments, the panel said in a report.

The mother’s nuclear DNA would be removed and placed into the egg cell of another woman

The father’s sperm would then be used to fertilise that hybrid egg.

prevent the transmission of certain types of diseases that occur at the mitochondrial DNA level.

Summary:
The three-parent babies it is a way, a technique that helps people that have risk of having babies to have their babies healthy and genetically their own. The experiments using the sperm and the egg of three persons is fine.

An in this case the food and frugs should be regulated carefully such experiments.

With this, is used to prevent the transmission of certain types of diseases that occur at the mitochondrial DNA level and having a damaged mitochondria will effect 200 different diseases, it includes different diseases. Knowing this, it is benefiting patients who can not have their own children have their genetically children of their own.

Fox, M. (February 3, 2016) Three-Parent Babies Are OK, Experts Say. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/three-parent-babies-are-ok-experts-say-n510626

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Experiments using sperm and egg cells from three different people to make an embryo are all right if they are carefully monitored and regulated.

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Three-parent babies: Main arguments for and Against ahead of crucial MPs vote 

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Three-parent babies: Main arguments for and Against ahead of crucial MPs vote 

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Main ideas

Three parent babies involve Mitochondrial donations and in the UK they have been recopilated that more than 2.400 women could  benefit from this IVF because they do not want to risk having a baby that could have furthered problems but there are controversial opinions.

Arguments

For

The security of the mother and the child will always be the most important and nothing will be done without the full consentment of the mother and everything will be done for the good of the child and mother.

The mitochondrial transfer only affects the 0.1 percent of the children's DNA and does not affect the eye colour or skin colour or any type of facial features.

Against

Experts say that a mitochondrial transplant is a bit unethical and that it shouldn’t be done because we don't know what the consequences may be at long distance.

Epigenetic are seen as another problem since  the environmental influences that can affect genes work either switching them on or off or more things.

Dialogue

I didn’t know that so many people could benefit from this transfer and it is really amazing how this can be cured by only doing one transfer.

Summary

Three parent babies are a really controversial points in every part of the world but the UK is the first countrie to approve the creation of three parent babies in the hole world but there is very controversial opinions about this here we find some.

For: In when doing the operation nothing will be done without the consentiment of the mother and father same as nothing will be done to the mitochondria without the consentment of the donor. It is know that the transfer does not change any type of physical feature in the child since it only counts as a 0,1 percent of the DNA.

Against: There is many controversial thoughts about this and most of them are from critics that say that this shouldn't be done due to ethical reasons and to future reasons because we do not know how this mitochondrial transfer can react in the future.

Three-parent babies: Main arguments for and against ahead of crucial MPs vote By Heather Saul.(3 February 2015) Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/threeparent-babies-main-arguments-for-and-against-ahead-of-crucial-mps-vote-10019901.html

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Main idea:

The first three parent babie has been made and mostly all of the people are in favour of this due to the fact that it allows the mothers that have been wanting a baby but they can't because they have some problems with their mitochondria

Dialogue:

I didn't know that the catholic group is against this technique.

Arguments/Facts:

The catholic group don't approve of this controversial technique and say that it's unethical and unhealthy

Mitochnodria inherit defects in their genes and that is what it makes that the baby could have an unhealthy life.

This process makes that the defects in the mitochondria are solved by extracting the deg¡fective mitochondria and putting in a perfect one from the donor

Even though the baby will have a donor's mitochondria, the baby will still be 99.9 percent of the mother and father

Summary:

Some people believe that the three parent baby technique should be prohibeted due to the fact that is unethical, however doctors say that it's extremely in favour. For example Newcastle University has done a special research that has looked at the mitochondrial replacement and if there are negative things but they have said that it is possible and that they give authority to do a trial. The biggest problem would be when they are extracting the mitochondria from the donnor and putting it into the mother's, however the baby will have about 99.9% of the mother's genes of the mother and father. About 25.000 women have defective mitochondria and have passed it to their children and this would be the solution to all the problems by replacing the mitochondria.

Cookson, C (2015, February 3) MPS vote in favour of three parent babies: https://www.ft.com/content/4f9aab02-ab9f-11e4-8070-00144feab7de

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MPs vote in favour of three parent babies

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Controversial IVF technique aims to prevent inherited diseases

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Controversial IVF technique produces a baby girl – and for some, that’s a problem

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Controversial IVF technique produces a baby girl – and for some, that’s a problem

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Main idea:

Doctor in New York, John Zhang is not concerned about the possibility of future children inheriting this genetic modification. He has his own thoughts about it.

Dialogue:

It is a very interesting resource that is talking about the doctor’s opinion about the mitochondria and thoughts about what would be best for the children.

Argument/Facts:

Doctor John Zhang used a mitochondrial manipulation technique for a patient suffering from a disease.

He believes various underlying techniques used by Zukin’s team were outdated.

He says that a virus will permanently integrate into the future baby’s DNA, whereas electronic transfer leaves no lasting genetic mark.

Summary:

fertilization technique. pronuclear transfer was approve in 2015 in United Kingdom. Only women were suffering mitochondrial disease. It replaces defective mitochondria in a mother’s egg with healthy donor mitochondria to prevent mitochondria diseases that passes to the children. This was having debates in United Kingdom. Boy babies carrying donor mitochondria cannot pass their modified genetics into any future children they may have because of specific reasons. If was a baby girl has genetic children, they will inherit her genetic modifications. Doctor John Zhang used a mitochondrial manipulation technique for a patient suffering from a disease and he believes variuos Zukin's team underlying techniques that were outdated. Zukin has is mainly thoughts. Because of the assumption newborn baby’s mitochondrial DNA is not defective. It explain ideas and sentences that Doctor Zhang John says. After all, It’s not forbidden.

Scutti, S. (January 17, 2017) Controversial IVF technique produces a baby girl - and for some, that’s a problem. Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/18/health/ivf-three-parent-baby-girl-ukraine-bn/index.html

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Controversial IVF technique produces a baby girl -- and for some, that's a problem | CNN

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It was a first for the entire world: Using a controversial in vitro fertilization technique, doctors in Kiev, Ukraine, helped a previously infertile couple conceive and deliver a baby girl. Some critics say, for genetic reasons, the use of this IVF method should have been restricted to producing a baby boy.