First U.K. Children Are Born Using DNA from 3 'Parents'

 First U.K. Children Are Born Using DNA from 3 'Parents'

    The United Kingdom was the first country to regulate the reproductive technique called mitochondrial replacement. 8 years after this children have been born using the procedure. Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy involves moving genetic information from an egg with diseased mitochondria to a donor egg that had its genetic material removed. This procedure remains restricted in the United States. This is still an area of medicine that requires much more research and they have many questions they need to answer. Since these are the first kids born using the MRT method it's not yet been determined how effective the treatment is and if it really cures mitochondrial diseases. 

    This article wasn't exactly what I was expecting it to be, the title kind of tricks you. Although technically there are 2 eggs being used the other egg's genetic material is removed so I don't really think it's like 3 parents had a baby. There still is DNA from all 3 parents however so it really is like 3 parents had a baby. I think this is really cool because if something is wrong with you a super close friend can help and really be their other mother. I do however think this is a very interesting discovery but it kind of scares me as it still isn't allowed in most countries. If these babies that were born are healthy and it seems the treatment worked I'm sure it'll be more widespread but I think most countries don't allow it since it's such a gray area.

LINKS:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-u-k-children-are-born-using-dna-from-three-parents/

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65538866

A Baby Was Born With DNA From 3 People

A technique where the mother's DNA is removed from her egg and then placed inside a donor egg from another woman is called maternal spindle transfer. The egg is then fertilized and evolves into an embryo and is then transferred for pregnancy. A woman who had many failed cycles of IVF was able to give birth to a healthy baby boy, with this technique. According to Dr. Jonathon Tilly, mitochondria plays a key role with the development of embryos and fertilization. An abundance of data gathered suggests that people who have an infertility/ poor egg and embryo condition have mitochondrial dysfunction or deficiency.

I think this is a very interesting topic, many times infertility is blamed on other things such as birth control (which have no proven side affects of this), but a mitochondrial dysfunction/ deficiency makes sense. I also think it is great that there have been successful cases with the spindle transfer technique. I hope this can help many women in the future who have trouble with infertility and seek to have children.



https://time.com/5569057/three-parent-baby-dna/

Related Article:
https://www.newsweek.com/assisted-reproduction-ivf-maternal-spindle-transfer-three-parent-babies-1302044

A Baby Was Born With DNA From 3 People

After several failed in vitro fertilization attempts for an Australian couple, researchers suggested a process called maternal spindle transfer. They found that her previous methods did not work because of a malfunction in the egg “Preventing a viable embryo from forming when it was fertilized.” This new technique involved removing the DNA from the mother’s egg, and replacing it with the DNA inside of a donor’s egg. The mother’s DNA in this egg will then be fertilized by the father’s sperm. The woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy which lead researchers to believe this method could help many families who struggle with IVF treatments. 

Multiple other factors likely contribute to the failing IVF one of which being mitochondrial diseases and malformations. When the mother’s DNA is transferred into a new egg, the embryo is able to healthily develop with the donor’s healthy mitochondria. We previously thought that mitochondria did not have a large role in reproduction, however, new research from Dr. Jonathan Tilly proves otherwise. After studying early embryo development, he has found that “Mitochondria may be playing an important role in helping eggs especially those from older women, to get fertilized and grow into healthy embryos and eventually newborns.” Interestingly enough, as others look at similar studies, many show evidence that when IVF fails, there is often a mitochondrial deficiency.

Researchers do not think the maternal spindle transfer will appear in fertility clinics anytime soon, as there is a lot more testing that must be done. They also joke about this process in the sense that there are three parent figures since the mother’s DNA is in another woman's egg. Dr. Tilly believes that this research will lead to a change in the way the US goes about fertility treatments as we are not allowed to alter genetic material during embryonic development. 

I think that this technique should be used in all countries. I was created via in vitro fertilization after several attempts. Luckily, after the third try the egg was fertilized and embryonic development began. However, thousands of couples every year spent countless times trying IVF only for it to also fail them. This new treatment would give husbands and wives the opportunity to have a biological family. I find it quite fascinating that DNA is able to be extracted and implanted into another woman's egg. With more research and clinical trials, I believe this method will give many families the ability to have a child. 

https://time.com/5569057/three-parent-baby-dna/