Three Biological Parents and a Baby
In this article we explore the case of Alana Saarinen. Alana was conceived using the genetic material of three individuals. A male and female provided the egg and sperm while a second female provided the genetic material for Alana's mitochondria. This procedure, however, stuck major controversy. The Food and Drug Administration deemed the procedure to be unsafe. Some even argued that mixing the DNA of two women was unethical. Each mitochondrion has it's own set of 37 genes inherited from the mothers. If a woman were to have a defect in her mitochondria a fertilization technique similar to the one used to conceive Alana would be ideal. Alana does not consider the second woman to be her third parent but rather considers her to be a mitocondria donater.
It had been found that the process by which Alana was conceived was quite risky. Many fetuses did not survive because they were suspected to have a missing X chromosome. Other children that were born healthy were found to have poor cognitive function a year or two after their birth. Many of these children were said to have autism. Although this procedure has been known to be a risky procedure there have been many promising and successful results including the case of Alana. If it is possible to conceive a baby with healthy mitochondria using a safe and proven procedure I feel that the opportunity should definitely be taken.
Primary Article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/ 2013/12/16/three-biological- parents-and-a-baby/
Secondary Article: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28986843
Primary Article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/
Secondary Article: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28986843
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