On February 3, 2015, British lawmakers passed a bill that will allow scientists to make babies from the DNA of three people. Britain is the first country to legalize this process, and many are hopeful that other countries will soon follow suit, as this type of embryo modification offers a solution to a particular genetic problem. Mitochondrial disease is a disorder in which a person has defective mitochondria as the result of inheriting a gene mutation from his/her mother. These organelles are responsible for converting food into usable energy; without fully functional mitochondria, those affected can experience brain damage, heart failure, muscle deterioration, and loss of sight. The severity varies greatly among individuals; some can live relatively normal lives, while others are completely debilitated or die as a result.
Sharon Bernardi advocates this scientific breakthrough. She knows too well the devastation this disease can cause. She lost all seven of her children to mitochondrial disease, and knows that the concept of “three person babies” could allow mothers like her to have biological children with healthy mitochondria. The technique used is a version of in vitro fertilization in which babies would receive 0.1% of DNA from the donor woman in order to replace the mitochondria. The result is a permanent change in the child’s DNA, and is therefore passed down to future generations. Altering the mitochondrial DNA does not change features such as appearance. The mitochondrial exchange can be made at either the egg or embryo level, as illustrated below:
While this treatment could allow parents to plan healthy families, there are opponents to this bill, such as Fiona Bruce, a member of parliament, who claims “there will be no going back for society.” She claims that the implications of the permanent genetic transformations cannot be predicted as they are passed through generations. Others argue that approving this type of genetic manipulation is a step toward “designer babies”, which would use genetic technologies to modify embryos and choose desirable traits for the offspring. Rachael Kean, who has a family history of mitochondrial disease, combats that notion, pointing out that this bill allows only for the change of mitochondrial DNA (0.01%) and not the nuclear DNA (99.9%) that “makes you, you.” Doctor Gillian Lockwood, a reproductive therapist, believes that the name of this treatment can cause controversy in that it is misleading. She states, “The biggest problem is that this has been described as three-parent IVF. In fact it is 2.001-parent IVF. 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.”
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is expected to grant Newcastle a license to perform this procedure, the first of which could take place this year. The first “three person baby” could be born in 2016 and researchers estimate that 150 of these babies could be born each year.
Posted by Meghan Harrington (Group B)