Britain’s top medical officer says the country may allow a controversial technique to create babies using DNA from three people. The move could help couples avoid passing on rare genetic diseases. The new technique helps women with faulty mitochondria avoid passing on defects to their babies that can result in such diseases as muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, heart problems and other developmental disorders. About one in every 200 children born in Britain each year has a mitochondrial disorder. For a woman with faulty mitochondria, scientists take only the healthy genetic material from her egg or embryo. They then transfer that into a donor egg or embryo that still has its healthy mitochondria, but has had the rest of its key DNA removed. The fertilized embryo is then transferred into the womb of the mother. Some groups oppose any artificial reproduction techniques. But if British lawmakers allow the procedure, the UK would become the first country in the world where the technique could be used to create babies. Beijing (Xinhua)
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 09:44:47 +0000
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