Children with DNA from 3 people? Already possible in the UK and Australia

A law passed by the Australian Senate in March of this year has made that country the second country in the world to legalize the assisted reproductive procedure. DNA of three people. The technique is done to prevent some couples from having children with debilitating disorders caused by defective mitochondria. Until then, the method was only allowed in the UK.

known as Maeve’s LawThe law, which reforms existing legislation on mitochondrial donation, is named after a six-year-old Australian girl who suffers from a serious mitochondrial disorder called Leigh syndrome. The disease results in a lifelong loss of mental and motor skills that are normally very short and do not go beyond childhood.

The newly passed law would allow genetic material from a third person to be used in place of mitochondria to prevent a baby from inheriting mitochondrial genetic diseases from parents.

How is it possible for a baby to have three parents?

To understand the idea of ​​a three-parent baby, it is necessary to know that for us to exist in the world, it’s not just that double helix DNA This creates the 23 pairs of chromosomes found in the nucleus of each of our cells. Cells also have DNA stored in small compartments (organelles) called mitochondria.

This is a type of functional DNA – mtDNA, which is sometimes referred to in biology classrooms as the powerhouse of cells and is actually required for all, including the egg and sperm, to provide energy.

But unlike nuclear DNA, this organic compound known as mtDNA is not the result of a combination of male and female DNA. As during fertilization, sperm mitochondria are disruptedthese cell organelles are inherited only from the mother.

mitochondrial displacement

As with nuclear DNA, there can be mutations in mtDNA that can cause serious and degenerative diseases as well as rendering a woman sterile with a mitochondrial defect. Also mitochondrial diseases are hereditary, so if the parents get the diagnosis, surely the children will have the disease.

This is where mitochondrial replacement, an organelle transplant, if not an organ transplant, comes into play. The technique consists of in vitro fertilization (IVF), in which the doctor creates an embryo that combines genetic material from the mother and father with that of a healthy female donor of mitochondria.

As for the question of whether the donor will be the third parent, this is controversial, as only 0.1% of the baby’s DNA will be enough to keep him healthy and prevent the disease from reproducing in future generations.