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Journalism of Courage
This Idea,the Design
Three-parent technique produces embryos containing DNA from three people to prevent
serious mitochondrial diseases that could pass on from mother to child. Referred to as batteries for human cells,mitochondria produce energy in the cells that the body needs to function. Defective mitochondria in children can lead to serious health problems,such as heart and liver diseases and respiratory problems. Sometimes it can even
lead to death in infants. Mitochondrial diseases are incurable and there is no way to prevent them from being inherited. Every year,one in 6,500 people globally is born with a mitochondrial disorder.
The technique
The technique involves transferring genetic material from the nucleus of the egg or embryo of a woman carrying a mitochondrial disease into an egg or embryo of a healthy donor whose nuclear DNA has been removed.
This means the resulting embryo will have the affected mothers nuclear DNA but will not inherit the mitochondrial disease,allowing women carrying defective mitochondria to have healthy children.
In the second method,the mothers nucleus is removed from the egg with unhealthy mitochondria and inserted into a donor egg whose nucleus has been removed,which then will go through the fertilisation process
The donors genetic material would be smalljust 37 genes. The majority of our DNA23,000 genesis held separately inside the cell nucleus
Other Breakthroughs
Next-generation sequencing (NGS): Used to read whole genomes quickly and cheaply,NGS is poised to transform embryo selection in IVF clinics. Connor Levy,born on May 18 in the US,was the first baby to be screened using NGS. His parents had cells from their IVF embryos sent to specialists in Oxford,who checked them for genetic abnormalities. The embryos with the right number of chromosomes were then selected.
On July 8,Belgian doctors said they had developed a low-cost version of test-tube baby technology. At $260,it is just 10-15 pc of the current cost,and will make IVF treatment much more affordable for developing countries.
since the first test-tube baby was born in 1978,5 million babies have been born using the technology,but mostly in the developed countries.
