"The Government has run a comprehensive and transparent process over the lifetime of this Parliament to review the public acceptability of mitochondrial donation and the ongoing evidence of safety and efficacy of the new techniques involved, said public health minister Jane Ellison in a written statement. The time is now right to give Parliament the opportunity to consider and vote on these regulations. Around one in every 200 babies born in the UK has a severe mitochondrial disease. Although rare, the disorders can be passed to future generations through the maternal line. Examples of mitochondrial diseases include conditions that cause muscle wasting, nerve damage, loss of sight and heart failure. Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies said: Mitochondrial donation will give women who carry severe mitochondrial disease the opportunity to have children without passing on devastating genetic disorders. It will also keep the UK at the forefront of scientific development in this area. If the new laws are voted in, it will be up to the fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), to decide whether a treatment can go ahead on a case-by-case basis. Mitochondrial transfer will only be allowed when there is a "significant risk" … Continue reading →

Proposals to make the UK the first country in the world to allow three-parent babies to be born have been strongly criticised by a Christian charity. Nola Leach, the Chief Executive of CARE, said draft legislation introduced in parliament yesterday raises "profound ethical and identity questions" as well as "huge, unanswered safety concerns". "It is quite extraordinary that the Government should contemplate asking MPs to vote on this hugely controversial legislation just before a General Election," she added. Under the rules introduced by Public Health Minister Jane Ellison, IVF clinics will legally be able to replace defective mitochondrial DNA from an egg with healthy DNA given by a donor. This process known as "mitochondrial replacement therapy" would reduce the number of children born with serious inherited diseases such as muscular dystrophy, but would also mean those children would technically have two mothers, or three parents in all. Ellison said in a written statement: "The Government has run a comprehensive and transparent process over the lifetime of this Parliament to review the public acceptability of mitochondrial donation and the ongoing evidence of safety and efficacy of the new techniques involved. "The time is now right to give Parliament the opportunity to … Continue reading →