UK okays 3-person babies

Britain's fertility regulator yesterday gave the green light for the country to become the first in the world to legally offer "three-parent baby" fertility treatments.

The technique would allow women who carry disease-causing mutations in their mitochondrial genes to give birth to genetically-related children free of mitochondrial disease.

The treatment involves the embryo receiving the usual "nuclear" DNA from the mother and father, as well as a small amount of healthy mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) from a female donor.

British lawmakers had voted in February to allow the creation of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) babies with DNA from three people, but clinics needed to obtain licences from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) before introducing the mitochondrial gene therapy.

HFEA chair Sally Cheshire called the decision to license the treatment "historic and important" and "a world first".

"I'm sure patients who might be in line for this treatment will be really pleased by what we've decided today," she said, but added: "We will proceed with caution."

An independent panel of experts last month said the practice should be "cautiously adopted" to prevent certain genetic diseases from being passed on to future generations.

But opponents have warned that it paves the way for "designer babies".

The first women could receive the treatment as early as March or April, with a pioneering research centre in Newcastle, northeast England, expected to kickstart the programme.