(Newswire.net — February 9, 2015) Alicante, Alicante — In a historic debate, the House of Commons voted by 382 to 128 in favour of the new bill. During the debate, ministers said the technique was “light at the end of a dark tunnel” for many UK families. They approved the regulation despite some critics cautioning that it was a step to producing “three-parent” designer children. The policies shall now have to be approved in the House of Lords, with sources stating they are likely to be passed.
MPs were allowed a free vote on the issue of conscience but both the Conservative and Labour front benches made it clear they thought it was a crucial clinical advance that did not resemble genetic modification. The method would prevent mitochondrial conditions however also raises considerable ethical issues. In an open letter to legislators, the American based United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, the Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, in addition to other groups from France, Germany, Britain and Spain, have all defined mitochondrial condition as “unimaginably cruel”.
Passage of the law is opposed by Catholic and Anglican church leaders, in part since the process implicates the destruction of an embryo. The method aimed at preventing fatal genetic diseases being passed from mother to child is expected to help about 150 British couples a year. One in 6,500 infants in the UK are believed to possess a major mitochondrial condition, which can result in health issues such as heart and liver disease, respiratory problems, blindness and muscular dystrophy.
Experts state that issues with mitochondria, the “powerhouse” cells of the body, are inherited from the mother, so the recommended IVF treatment would mean an afflicted woman could have an infant without passing on mitochondrial condition. They also say that the cutting-edge IVF method involves moving nuclear genetic material from a mum’s egg or embryo into a benefactor egg or embryo that’s had its nuclear DNA removed.
The IVF researchers have actually described how the new embryo would contain nuclear DNA from the intended father and mum, as well as healthy mitochondrial DNA from the donor embryo, effectively producing a “3 parent” infant. Under the suggested change to the laws on in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), along with getting regular “nuclear” DNA from its mother and father, the embryo would likewise consist of a small amount of healthy mDNA from a female donor. Experts think that the use of mDNA from a second woman might possibly help around 2,500 women in Britain at risk of passing on dangerous mDNA mutations.
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