In Vitro fertilization using DNA from three parents could be newest way to prevent inherited disease.
Britain is considering whether to approve a new fertility treatment that swaps DNA between two fertilized human eggs. British scientists from Newcastle University say they have mastered the technique with cloning technology.
The process involves removing malfunctioning mitochondrial DNA that could lead to a range of conditions. The malfunctioning cells are then replaced with healthy ones from a second "mother" who donated an egg.
"As doctors we have a duty to treat disease and where possible to prevent disease. With diseases for which there are no treatments the imperative to develop new treatments is even greater," said Alison Murdoch, the head of Newcastle's department of reproductive medicine.
A similar process was used to make Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996. In the process, the third parent must donate an egg because mitochondria are only inherited from the mother. Around one in 6,500 children are born with serious diseases caused by faulty mitochondrial DNA.
Health Minister Andrew Lansley has asked the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to review the process. While much more testing needs to be done, scientists say this is the first step to ensuring child and reproductive health.
"We are not ready to do this in patients now but the science is progressing very rapidly," Murdoch said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
"Of course there is no guarantee that we will have all the evidence we need to secure a license in a year but we need to anticipate that we may have and prepare accordingly.
