Eight years after the U.K. became the first country in the world to approve a reproductive technique known as mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), “less than five” children have been born using the procedure, as of April 2023. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the U.K. fertility regulator that approves the IVF-based procedure on a case-by-case basis, recently confirmed this in response to a freedom of information request. The fertility regulator refused to share more information about the birth details of the children as that “could lead to the identification of a person to whom the HFEA owes a duty of confidentiality”.
Last year, Australia became the second country to approve this therapy.
The mitochondrial replacements in “less than five” children were carried out by the Newcastle Fertility Centre, U.K., the only clinic that has been approved by the regulator to conduct this therapy.
