Babies conceived using the DNA of three individuals are born without hereditary

Babies conceived using the DNA of three individuals are born without hereditary diseases.

Witness the moment when DNA from a mother and father is injected into the egg of another woman—this crucial step marks the creation of a baby from three sources. According to doctors, eight babies have been born in the UK using this innovative technique, which employs genetic material from three people to prevent severe and often lethal conditions.
BBC News
Developed by UK researchers, this method combines the egg and sperm from the biological parents with an egg from a donor woman. Although the technique has been legal for a decade, we have only recently obtained the first evidence showing that it results in children born free from incurable mitochondrial diseases. These disorders are typically passed from mother to child, depriving the body of energy and potentially leading to severe disabilities or even death shortly after birth. Couples are aware of their risk if previous children, family members, or the mother have been affected by these conditions. Children conceived through this three-person technique inherit the vast majority of their DNA—about 99.9%—from their biological parents, but they also receive a small percentage, around 0.1%, from the donor woman. This genetic alteration is passed on to future generations. To protect their privacy, none of the families who have undergone this process are speaking publicly; however, they have provided anonymous statements via the Newcastle Fertility Centre, where the procedures were conducted. "Overwhelmed with gratitude" "After years of uncertainty, this treatment offered us hope—and then it brought us our baby," shared the mother of a baby girl. "Seeing her now, full of life and potential, fills us with immense gratitude." The mother of a baby boy remarked, "Thanks to this remarkable advancement and the support we received, our little family is now complete. The emotional weight of mitochondrial disease has been lifted, replaced by hope, joy, and profound gratitude.