Kirsten Patrick is Deputy Editor at CMAJ

Yesterday, after a long public consultation by the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority and a heated debate and vote in the English House of Commons, it began to seem likely that the UK will be the first country to allow the practice of mitochondrial transfer (albeit with safeguards). If the House of Lords approves it, this will result in an amendment to the UK’s 2008 law regulating IVF, embryological manipulation and pre-implantation genetic therapies. We’re effectively seeing glimmerings of a green light for the creation of ‘three-parent babies’ in the UK.

I've been following this process closely. Once I understood the reason WHY mitochondrial transfer is important in the prevention of certain serious diseases of mitochondrial DNA, I felt convinced that legalising it was the right thing to do. ...continue reading →