Britain has announced for the first time that a baby has been born in the country with the DNA of three people after doctors carried out an innovative in vitro fertilization procedure aimed at preventing children from inheriting incurable diseases, DPA and the BBC reported on Wednesday, citing Agerpres. .

Most of the child’s DNA comes from both parents, and about 0.1% comes from a third person – another woman.

The UK Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) announced that “fewer than five babies” had been born in the UK from the innovative procedure, but no details were released to protect their identities.

This scientific method is designed to prevent the birth of children with devastating mitochondrial diseases. These are long-term, genetic and often inherited disorders that occur when mitochondria fail to perform their function of producing vital energy for the body’s cells.

These diseases can be very serious and often fatal. In children, symptoms may include growth problems, low muscle tone, weakness, cramps, and slow growth or slow deterioration.

Some families have lost multiple children to inherited mitochondrial diseases, so a new technique known as mitochondrial donor treatment (MDT), a modified form of in vitro fertilization, is believed to be their only chance of having a healthy child.

The second woman’s DNA affects only the mitochondria, not other essential characteristics of the child, such as appearance. This was first reported by The Guardian.

A child with 3 parents using MRI therapy

The UK has become the first country in the world to officially license mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) after the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority gave the go-ahead for the procedure in 2017. In 2018, doctors at Newcastle Fertility Center were given permission by the HFEA to use the treatment on two women.

“Mitochondrial donation gives families with severe inherited mitochondrial diseases the chance to have a healthy child,” said Peter Thompson, chief executive of the HFEA.

“The UK was the first country in the world to allow mitochondrial donation within a regulated framework,” he added.

“All requests for treatment are evaluated individually according to the criteria provided by the law, and only after the opinion of independent experts. Mitochondrial donation therapy is still in its infancy and the HFEA continues to review clinical and scientific developments,” he said.

In 2016, with the help of American specialists, the world’s first child with the DNA of 3 people was born in Mexico.

PHOTO article: Pleprakaymas | Dreamstime.com.