Eight babies born with the DNA of three people successfully avoided a deadly genetic disease in the UK. The babies carry mainly their parents’ DNA, but also a 0,1% from a third person.
The procedure was developed to help mothers prevent transmitting Genetic Mitochondrial Disease to their children. The illness affects about one in 5,000 babies, the BBC said.
The babies who suffer from the disease have a genetic defect that affects their mitochondria, so the procedure aimed at replacing simply the genetic material of that part of the cell.
We all carry our genetic material in each of our cells. Mitochondria are tiny organelles that float around the nucleus of our cells and provide energy to them.
Genetic mitochondrial disease affects the development of children, particularly in their early days, while energy-hungry organs, like the brain, are growing.
The developmental issues can cause severe disability in some children. Others pass away very young, some as early as weeks after being born.
Many parents suffer from several losses due to the disease. The British team created an IVF procedure to replace the mother’s mitochondria with those of a healthy donor.
According to The BBC, the team first fertilized the eggs of the mother and the donor with the father’s sperm. Then, it extracted the nucleus of both eggs.
Finally, the team inserted the nucleus of the parent’s egg inside the mitochondria of the healthy donor and implanted the new embryo inside the mother.
The eight babies, six and a set of twins, were all free from the disease, The Guardian reported. Another pregnancy is underway. The parents issued an anonymous statement showing hope and relief.
Some of them carried a low percentage of faulty mitochondrial DNA, but not enough to have the illness. It was a success, but these percentages show some room for improvement.
The procedure is only possible in the UK. The country’s parliament legalized it in 2015, allowing decades of research to advance further. All the healthy babies are continuously monitored.
