U.K. Government Plans to Allow Mitochondrial Replacement - ScienceInsider - 0 views
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The U.K. government is moving toward allowing a new type of in vitro fertilization that would enable patients with mitochondrial diseases to avoid passing the condition to their children
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The technique is controversial, because it involves introducing new DNA into a human embryo
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The Department of Health announced
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that it would draw up draft guidelines to allow fertility clinics to offer the technique
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The proposed guidelines would be released for public comment later this year, and Parliament could vote on a final version next year
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Mitochondria are the cell's power generators, and they carry their own DNA, called mtDNA
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Mutations in those genes cause mitochondrial diseases, which can affect various organs, including the heart, liver, eyes, and brain
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Such diseases are passed from mother to child, because the egg provides most of an embryo's mtDNA
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The techniques
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transfer the nuclear DNA from the sperm and egg of the potential parents into a second egg, provided by a donor who has healthy mitochondria, from which the nuclear DNA has been removed
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The technique is still under development and isn't yet considered ready to try in humans
