Anticipated Vote on Mitochondrial Replacement In UK May Be Delayed

As I have previously discussed, the UK is considering legalizing a procedure called mitochondrial replacement, which is used to prevent mitochondrial disease in babies born to mothers who carry the genes for the disease. It works by replacing genes in the mother’s egg with those of another woman that does not carry the mitochondrial disease gene. Babies born from this procedure have three genetic parents.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, a government watchdog group, announced in July that its research found the procedure “not unsafe” and gave approval for Members of Parliament to vote on whether to make the procedure legal. However, opponents, including many scientists, are asking for the vote to be delayed until further research can be done.

See Jonathan Petre & Stephen Adams, Bid to Delay ‘Three Parent Babies’ Through IVF as Tests Find Fears Could Suffer Reduced Fertility, Learning Difficulties and Even Cancer, Daily Mail, Oct. 4, 2014.