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    Three Parentbabies

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    The UK voted to allow mitochondrial donation, which would permit babies to legally have DNA from three people. The technique involves replacing a mother's faulty mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from a female donor, preventing certain genetic disorders. While supporters say it offers hope to families, critics argue it raises ethical issues and is a step towards "designer babies." The bill passed the House of Commons 382-128 and will next be considered by the House of Lords, with the potential to allow the first three-parent baby in the UK next year if approved.

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    Three Parentbabies

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    The UK voted to allow mitochondrial donation, which would permit babies to legally have DNA from three people. The technique involves replacing a mother's faulty mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from a female donor, preventing certain genetic disorders. While supporters say it offers hope to families, critics argue it raises ethical issues and is a step towards "designer babies." The bill passed the House of Commons 382-128 and will next be considered by the House of Lords, with the potential to allow the first three-parent baby in the UK next year if approved.

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    The UK voted to allow mitochondrial donation, which would permit babies to legally have DNA from three people. The technique involves replacing a mother's faulty mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from a female donor, preventing certain genetic disorders. While supporters say it offers hope to families, critics argue it raises ethical issues and is a step towards "designer babies." The bill passed the House of Commons 382-128 and will next be considered by the House of Lords, with the potential to allow the first three-parent baby in the UK next year if approved.

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    1K views3 pages

    Three Parentbabies

    Uploaded by

    api-110789702
    The UK voted to allow mitochondrial donation, which would permit babies to legally have DNA from three people. The technique involves replacing a mother's faulty mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from a female donor, preventing certain genetic disorders. While supporters say it offers hope to families, critics argue it raises ethical issues and is a step towards "designer babies." The bill passed the House of Commons 382-128 and will next be considered by the House of Lords, with the potential to allow the first three-parent baby in the UK next year if approved.

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    TheUKvotedyesonthreeparentbabiestoday.

    Hereshowonebabycanhavethree
    peoplesDNA
    By

    RachelFeltman
    February3

    Sometimesittakesthreepeople(andalab)tomakeahealthybaby.
    TheUnitedKingdomcouldbecomethefirstcountry
    toallowthreepeople
    toparentonechildafterafashion,anyway.Thetechnique,whichuses
    donatedDNAfromathirdpartytocutouttheriskofcertaingenetic
    disordersthattheparentsmightpasson,wasputtoavoteTuesdayin
    theHouseofCommons.Ifthebill(whichpassed382128)getsthe
    backingofParliament'supperchamberlaterthismonth,thismethodof
    DNAdonationwouldbecomelegalintheUKinOctoberof2015.

    Buthowexactlydoesababyendupwiththree"parents,"andwhyisthetechniquesocontroversial?
    Thebabiesthatresultfromthistechniquecanonlyattributearound.1%oftheirDNAtothethirdparty,so
    "parent"isabitofastrongword.Thedonorprovidesonlytheirmitochondria.Oftencalledthe"powerplants"
    ofthecell,themitochondriaconvertsenergyfromfoodintoenergythatcanpoweracell.Whensomeone's
    mitochondriadon'tfunctionproperly,it'sbadnewsindeed.Mitochondrialdiseases

    cancauseawholehostof
    lifethreateningproblems
    ,andit'sestimatedthatasmanyas4,000childrenarebornwithsuchconditionsin
    theUnitedStateseachyear.

    Thetechniqueupforvote,whichwasdevelopedbyBritishresearchers,takesamitochondriafromahealthy
    femaledonorandcombinesitwiththeDNAoftwoparentsinaninvitrofertilization.Thiscanbe
    accomplishedateithertheeggstageortheembryostage:Inonemethod,twoeggsarefertilizedwiththe
    father'sspermonefromthedonor,andonefromthemotherandtheparents'geneticinformationis
    insertedintothedonor'sembryo,whichhashadeverythingbutthemitochondriaclearedout.

    Inanother,the
    nucleusofamother'seggcellisplaceddirectlyintoadonoregg,replacingtheoriginalnucleusthere.
    Lastweek,
    40expertsfrom14differentcountriessignedalettertoTheGuardian
    urgingBritishpoliticiansto
    supportthedonationprotocol.Butthe

    ChurchofEngland
    hascomeoutinoppositionofthetechnique.
    Naysayersciteethicalconcerns:Sometakeaprolifestance,arguingagainsttheembryodestructionthat
    occursduringtheprocess.Othershaveexpressedconcernthatthistechniqueopensthedoorto"designer
    babies"chosenfordesirablephysicalormentaltraits.

    "ThebiggestproblemisthatthishasbeendescribedasthreeparentIVF.Infactitis2.001parentIVF,"
    GillianLockwood
    ,areproductiveethicist,toldtheBBC."Lessthanatenthofonepercentofthegenomeis
    actuallygoingtobeaffected.Itisnotpartofwhatmakesusgeneticallywhoweare.Itdoesn'taffectheight,
    eyecolor,intelligence,musicality.Itsimplyallowsthebatteriestoworkproperly."

    Therearealreadypeopleoutthreewith2.001parents.
    Asimilartechniquewaspioneered
    intheU.S.during
    the90s,butwasbannedafterlessthan100babieswereborn.Infact,havingastranger'sDNAinyourbody
    permanentlyisn'tanovelideaatall."Thinkaboutbonemarrowtransplants,"PeterBraude,emeritus
    professorofobstetricsandgynecologyatKingsCollegeLondon,

    toldtheBBC
    ."Let'ssayunfortunatelyyou
    haveleukaemiaandyouhavetohaveyourbonemarrowradiatedforthecancertobekilledandthenitis
    replacedbybonemarrowfromsomeoneelsesayme.Effectivelyfromthattimeonwards,youwillhave
    circulatinginyourbodyDNAfromme.Youwon'tberelatedtome,youmaybegratefultome,butyouwill
    haveDNAfromathirdpersoncirculatinginyourbody."

    Mom,dad,donor:Britainmovesstepclosertoallowingbabieswith3peoples
    genes,WashingtonPost
    By

    KarlaAdam
    February3
    LONDONBritainmovedastepcloserTuesdaytobecomingthefirstcountrytolegalizesocalled
    threeparentbabies,aslawmakersmovedclosertoallowingfertilitylabstousegeneticmaterialfroma
    mother,fatherandafemaledonor.

    ThedebateintheHouseofCommonsreflectedthedeeppassionson

    bothsides
    oftheissueofallowingin
    vitroproceduresthatcouldpreventthepassingonofinheritedandincurablediseasesthroughmitochondrial
    DNA,whichiscarriedfrommothertochild.

    Supporterssaychangingthelawwouldofferhopetocoupleswhootherwisewouldrisktransferringdiseases
    suchasmusculardystrophytotheiroffspring.Butawiderangeofcriticsquestiontheethicsoftheproposal,
    sayingitwouldbeanothersteptowardcreatingdesignerbabies.

    Theproposalpassed,382to128,andmovedtoParliamentsupperchamber,theHouseofLords,wherea
    voteisexpectedsoon,althoughnodatehasbeenset.Commentatorssaythefirstthreeparentbabycould
    bebornnextyearifthelegislativeeffortsucceeds.

    ThisisaboldstepforParliamenttotake,butitisaconsideredandinformedstep,theparliamentary
    undersecretaryforpublichealth,JaneEllison,saidbeforethevote.Formanyfamiliesaffected,thisis,
    indeed,thatlightattheendofthedarktunnel,sheadded.

    HowonebabycanhavethreepeoplesDNAViewGraphic

    Thetechnique,calledmitochondrialdonation,involvesreplacingawomansfaultymitochondrialDNAwith
    healthyDNAfromafemaledonor.Evenifthebillpasses,couplesseekingtreatmentwouldneedthe
    permissionoftheHumanFertilizationandEmbryologyAuthority,Britainsfertilityregulator.
    Religiousleadershavevoicedconcerns,warningthegovernmentagainstrushingintoadecisionand
    arguingthatmoreresearchisneeded.

    FearsovergeneticmanipulationarenotuniquetoBritain.Inthe1990s,theUnitedStatespioneereda
    techniquecalledcytoplasmictransfer,aimedathelpinginfertilewomentohavetheirownbabies.Aspartof
    theprocedure,donormaterialcontainingmitochondrialDNAwasaddedtothemothersegg.Fewerthan
    100babieswerebornbeforetheFoodandDrugAdministrationeffectivelybannedthepracticeovermedical
    andethicalconcerns.

    IftheBritishproceduregetsthegreenlight,ababyconceivedthroughthetechniquewouldreceiveitskey
    geneticmaterialfromitsmotherandfather,andjustasmallamountofDNAfromadonorfemale,whowould
    remainanonymous.

    Theaimistohelpthe

    estimated

    2,473womeninBritainwhoareatriskofpassingonpossibly
    diseasetriggeringmitochondrialDNAtotheirchildren.Mitochondriaaretinystructuresinsidecellsthatact
    likebatteries,providingenergytothecells.TheyalsohavetheirownDNA.Whentheydonotfunction
    properly,theresultscanbedevastating.Faultymitochondriahavebeenlinkedtoblindness,deafness,
    dementiaandmusculardystrophy.Amitochondrions37genesareasmallfractionofthoseinthehuman
    genome,andunlikenuclearDNA,mitochondrialDNAdoesnotaffectappearancecharacteristicssuchas
    haircolor.ThebanontinkeringwithnuclearDNAwouldremaininplace.


    Still,shouldthelawchange,babiescouldbebornwithaverysmallfractionoftheirDNA,about0.2percent,
    fromafemaledonor.SomeopponentsoftheproposedlegislativechangespeakofBritainssteppingontoa
    slipperyslope.

    FionaBruce,amemberofParliamentfromthe
    ConservativeParty,saidthemovewouldbe
    tantamounttolettingthegenieoutofthebottle.
    ThebulkoftheBritishscientificcommunity,
    however,appearedtowelcometheresultofthevote
    andwidelyinterpreteditasprovidingclear
    guidelinesonwhatisacceptable.
    Idontagreewiththeslipperyslopeargumentat
    all,saidprofessorAlisonMurdochofNewcastle
    University,whichhasbeenattheforefrontof
    mitochondrialresearchinBritain.Byhavingalegal
    frameworkthatsaysyoucandothisbutyoucantdo
    theotherwithoutcriminalsanctions,thereisan
    absolutebarrier.

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