Just over six years after Britain became the first country to approve test-tube treatment with genes from three people, they have gained a historic resident.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the first baby with three donors has been born. The phenomenon has been dubbed “Three-parent babies” by the British, even though the child has more than 99.9 percent of the genes from mother and father.
The ground-breaking treatment means that mothers with hereditary, incurable diseases can give birth to healthy children. The children will thus receive DNA from two mothers and one father.
What consequences the method will have for the children is so far unknown.
These are mitochondria
- Mitochondria are like little power plants in our cells that convert energy from our food into energy the cells can use.
- Cells with a high energy demand (muscle and nerve cells) have more mitochondria than cells with a low energy level.
- All humans inherit their mitochondria from their mother and an egg cell contains around 100,000 mitochondria.
- Mitochondrial disease is caused by genetic defects in DNA.
- Typical of mitochondrial disease is that it affects the muscles, eyes, heart and nervous system.
- The most serious diseases start early in life and are usually fatal.
– Controversial
In Norway, the method is met with scepticism.
– The treatment has a different starting point to that which is the starting point for assisted fertilization in Norway. Test tube treatment should be for those who are involuntarily childless. This is about you not wanting to pass on any harmful genetic material to your child, says chairman of the interest organization Ønskebarn, Lise Boeck Jakobsen to Nettavisen.
The reason for the skepticism is both the research basis, as well as the ethics associated with the treatment. The method uses the cell nucleus of a woman’s egg cells and transfers it to a nucleusless egg cell with healthy mitochondria, to create test-tube embryos free of inherited mutations, which can cause incurable diseases.
In Norway, the treatment has divided the Biotechnology Council, an advisory body for the Norwegian authorities. In 2021, nine people in the council voted to open up the method in Norway. But only if it is considered safe and effective. Most agreed, with the proviso that only male children are made, so that changes are not inherited.
Six voted against all use.
– It is a controversial topic. Many believe that if you change germ cells, you cross a line you shouldn’t cross, says Eirik Tranvåg, senior adviser at the Biotechnology Council.
– Clone
About one in 6,000 babies is affected by mitochondrial disorders, writes The Guardian. The relevant gene mutations cause everything from poor eyesight and diabetes to muscle wasting.
– As far as this treatment is concerned, this is probably referred to as a form of gene editing. Personally, I would think twice before going in to take out material and replace it with something completely different, says Jakobsen.
The test-tube baby will have approximately 37 genes from the third donor, while by far the largest proportion comes from the two main donors.
The treatment may conflict with the Council of Europe’s Convention on Biomedicine, which prohibits interventions that cause hereditary genetic changes. Therefore, Norway has not approved the treatment.
– You do not change the genes of the mother, but replace some of them. The technology is reminiscent of cloning, says Tranvåg.
One criticism of the treatment is that it approaches “designed” babies, among other things by removing these hereditary diseases.
– Some people think it’s fine if the gain is big enough, while the other party thinks there’s a limit that shouldn’t be crossed, he says.
2023-05-16 20:28:15
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