Fertility bosses say ‘three-parent IVF’ is “not unsafe”

Fertility bosses say 'three-parent IVF' is "not unsafe"

5:43pm Tuesday 3rd June 2014 in News

THE controversial three-parent IVF treatment developed by North-East scientists to prevent serious inherited conditions has moved a step closer to becoming reality.

The UKs fertility treatment regulator said the pioneering technique developed by scientists at Newcastle University was not unsafe but suggested further checks before it is allowed to be used on patients.

In February this year the Government launched a consultation on draft regulations for the use of techniques developed at Newcastle University to prevent mothers passing on serious mitochrondrial diseases.

The techniques involve adapting IVF procedures to eliminate crippling mitochondrial disease.

As part of the consultation the Department of Health requested the the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to reconvene its expert panel to examine the safety and effectiveness of these techniques.

The result of the review the third of its kind was that the panel accepted that the techniques are potentially useful for the treatment of severe or lethal genetic disease and that the techniques are not unsafe.

However the expert panel felt that there are still some experiments that need to be completed before clinical treatment is offered to patients.

Sally Cheshire, chair of the HFEA said it was now up to the Government to decide the next step and said it is a long way to go yet.

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Fertility bosses say 'three-parent IVF' is "not unsafe"