First babies born using DNA from three people in the UK

LONDON • The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (fertility regulator) has confirmed that babies have been born using the DNA of three people for the first time in the UK. Most of babies’ DNA comes from both of their parents. But about 0.1% is from a third person, another woman. Fewer than five babies have been born this way in the UK. But fertility regulator officials said they could not release further details to protect their identities.

One such scientific technique is designed to prevent children from being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondrial diseases are long-term genetic and inherited disorders that occur when mitochondria fail to produce energy for the body’s cells. Mitochondria are tiny chambers in almost every cell in the body that convert food into usable energy.

Defective mitochondria fail to provide energy to the body and can lead to brain damage, muscle wasting, heart failure, and blindness. These are transmitted only through the mother. Mitochondrial donation therapy is therefore a modified form of IVF. The donor DNA is only relevant for making effective mitochondria. It does not affect the child’s characteristics such as appearance. In 2016, a Jordanian family who was undergoing treatment in the US was the first to have a baby through this method.