Church concerns over pioneering Newcastle three-parent technique mitochondrial

A pioneering technique developed in Newcastle to make babies out of three people would not be responsible church bosses have warned.

A leading Church of England figure is today making a stand against proposed changes to the law that would allow IVF babies to be born with DNA from three different people.

MPs are to debate the controversial issue of mitochondrial donation in the House of Commons on Tuesday, with experts welcoming the move which could result in the UK becoming the first country in the world to approve the treatments.

If approved, medics in Tyneside hope they would get the green light to carry out the first technique by the end of this year.

The treatment seeks to replace defective mitochondrial in a birth mothers egg with healthy mitochondrial from another woman in order to limit hereditary mitochondrial diseases.

New research from The Wellcome Trust Centre team, based in Newcastle, has suggested it could potentially help almost 2,500 women of reproductive age in the UK.

But the Rev Dr Brendan McCarthy, medical ethics adviser to the Church of England, warned against any change in legislation.

The Archbishops Council, which monitors this issue, does not feel that there has been sufficient scientific study of informed consultation into the ethics, safety and efficacy of mitochondria transfer, he said.

Without a clearer picture of the role mitochondria play in the transfer of hereditary characteristics, the Church does not feel it would be responsible to change the law at this time.

The new regulations being debated make provision to enable mitochondrial donation under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.

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Church concerns over pioneering Newcastle three-parent technique mitochondrial