First 'three-parent baby' born in the UK through pioneering IVF procedure

The first baby in UK has been born with DNA from three people through IVF. (Representational)

In a pioneering IVF procedure, the first UK baby has been born with DNA from three people, according to reports. The child was developed through a process called mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), which involves taking the nucleus from one of the mother's eggs, containing her DNA, and implanting it into a donor egg that had its nucleus removed but retained the donor's healthy mitochondrial DNA.

This innovative technique has been developed to create IVF embryos that are free from harmful mutations that mothers carry and are likely to pass on to their children. Mitochondrial DNA, which provides power for the cell and is often compared to a battery, has been found to be a major cause of genetic diseases.

Although mitochondrial DNA only makes up a tiny fraction of an individual's genetic material, defects in it can cause a range of serious and life-threatening disorders, including muscle weakness, blindness, deafness, and neurological problems. MDT is a means of replacing defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy DNA from a donor, allowing for healthy embryos to be created and preventing the transmission of mitochondrial diseases.

Many scientists in the field argue that the term "three-parent baby" is inaccurate for this reason as more than 98.8 percent of the DNA is still from two people. The UK Parliament approved the procedure in 2015, and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), a regulatory body, considers requests for its use.

The first British "three-parent child" was discovered through a Freedom of Information request to the HFEA. The clinic reportedly said a small number of babies have now been born in the UK after MDT, but doctors at the clinic do not release details of births from its MDT programme due to concerns that specific information could compromise patient confidentiality.

Britain is not the first country to see children born through MDT. In 2016, a child was born in Mexico through the procedure, and since then, there have been several successful cases in countries like the US and Ukraine.

Professor Alison Murdoch, head of the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, Newcastle University, who has been at the forefront of research in this area in the UK, said at the time of the birth that it was "great news." MDT has the potential to revolutionize the field of IVF and offer new hope to families affected by mitochondrial disease. However, the procedure is still highly controversial, with some critics questioning its safety and ethics.