Britain is the first to set laws on specialized IVF or the three-parent-baby. This is supposed to prevent the transfer of flawed mitochondria and save lives.
Through the years, the British Parliament has been known to be tight and conservative with their traditions. Despite the archaic ways they’ve been known for, the members have made a revolutionary decision, a decision that no other legislature has ever been willing to consider.
The members of the parliament have approved legislation to allow practice of creating three-parent babies, making Britain the first to have ever embraced a controversial medical solution. With three-parent specialized IVF, women today can prevent genetically inherited conditions such as mitochondrial disease.
While supporters are pleased with the new legislation, there are also many who find the new law being unwise and immoral. The opposing party suggests that the new law encourages designer babies that raise ethical concerns as debated by many private organizations in many countries.
Designer Babies is a term used by journalists to describe the use of genetic technologies to alter embryos to have a more desirable characteristic. However, Doctor Gillian Lockwood says it is a small change; only less than a tenth of one percent of the genome is affected. Therefore, the process does not genetically change who we are. In other words, it doesn’t change the height, eye color, and intelligence.
The method should be life-saving, to help women like Sharon Bernardi of Sunderland, who, unfortunately, has faulty DNA passed along to her children and lost seven of them to mitochondrial disease.
Flawed mitochondria are transferred solely by the mother to the child. Flawed mitochondria can result in brain problems, muscle wasting, cardiovascular failure as well as loss of sight. The specialized IVF or the three-parent-baby is supposed to prevent the transfer of flawed mitochondria by one of the two methods; embryo repair or the egg repair. The repair makes use of a donor’s healthy mitochondria and gets rid of the faulty mitochondria.
No matter what the ethical disputes concerning the desirability of these alterations, these are less relevant to the matter of mitochondrial transfer. There is no genetic disturbance or even redesign.
Regardless of the argument on this matter, one thing is clear. This process helps people, and it is life saving despite ethical arguments. Scientists are not playing Gods. They are simply doing their jobs, making use of the talent given to them to correct what is wrong, and eventually save lives.
Related: fertility treatment, fertility treatments, ivf, IVF treatment, specialized IVF
