Science Daily: Technique for ‘three-parent baby’ revealed

April 3, 2017

The research and editorial, published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online (RBMO), describe and comment on the procedure, which resulted in the birth of a healthy baby boy to a carrier of Leigh Syndrome, a progressive, fatal neurological disorder caused by a mutation in the mother's mitochondrial DNA. At the time the paper was written, the baby was seven months old.

"For some years, reproductive specialists have been able to deselect genetically affected embryos with mitochondrial disease, using sophisticated diagnostic procedures in the IVF laboratory," Professor Bart Fauser, Editor-in-Chief of RBMO, said. "Now, for the first time, an egg with abnormal mitochondria can be changed to contain mostly normal mitochondria from a healthy egg donor. This is a major change of technology and an obvious advantage for women who are at risk of passing such diseases on to the next generation."

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