The first baby with 'three parents' has been born in the UK after a special IVF procedure which was pioneered in Newcastle.
Mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT) is a procedure which involves giving a woman an IVF baby with DNA from three individuals. Most of the baby's DNA will come from two parents, with around 0.1% from a donor.
The aim is to prevent children from being born with incurable mitochondrial diseases which can be fatal within days or even hours of birth.
Britain became the first country in the world to formally allow Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy (MRT) when the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) gave a cautious green light to the procedure in 2017. And in 2018 fertility doctors at the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life were given permission by the HFEA to give two women MRT.
Now the HFEA have confirmed "less than five" babies have been born in the UK after MDT as of April 20 this year, according to reports.
The latest findings were first reported by the Guardian following a freedom of information request. HFEA did not give further details to avoid families being identified.
Peter Thompson, chief executive of the HFEA, said: “Mitochondrial donation treatment offers families with severe inherited mitochondrial illness the possibility of a healthy child.
“The UK was the first country in the world to allow mitochondrial donation treatment within a regulatory environment.
“The HFEA oversee a robust framework which ensures that mitochondrial donation is provided in a safe and ethical manner.
“All applications for treatment are assessed on an individual basis against the tests set out in the law and only after independent advice from experts.
“These are still early days for mitochondrial donation treatment and the HFEA continues to review clinical and scientific developments.”
Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Education Trust, said UK laws relating to the treatment were “passed only after many years of careful research, assessment and deliberation”.
She added: “Even then, it was decided that use of this technology would be permitted by the regulator only on a case-by-case basis. This measured approach was and is appropriate, given the relative novelty of this technology.
“News that a small number of babies with donated mitochondria have now been born in the UK is the next step in what will probably remain a slow and cautious process of assessing and refining mitochondrial donation.”
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