House of Lords of the United Kingdom approved a law to enable a new type of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to replace defective DNA , the prevention of certain types of genetic diseases. The vote follows the approval of the House of Commons of the measure, February 3, making the UK the first country to explicitly allow the procedure, which would combine the DNA of two biological parents and a donor 'egg.
The technique will be authorized under fairly tight regulation :. researchers wishing to offer couples the service must still apply for and obtain a license Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority in the country
The technique, called replacement therapy for mitochondrial DNA, would allow women who have mutations DNA in their mitochondria, the organelles that provide chemical energy for the cell to have children genetically related that do not carry the mutation. However, it is controversial, as it would change the DNA of an embryo in a way that could be transmitted to future generations.
People who have defective mitochondria may experience a variety of symptoms, including heart problems, seizures, and blindness. Symptoms vary, however, and the condition can be difficult to diagnose. Some babies born with defective mitochondria die within months. Other people do not show symptoms until much later in life.
Mitochondria are transmitted through the egg cell, so that the diseases are inherited from the mother. The researchers have developed ways to transfer genetic material from one egg cell that carries the defective mitochondria in an egg from a donor who has healthy mitochondria. And after the egg was artificially inseminated with the sperm, the embryo carries the nuclear DNA from the mother and father and mitochondrial DNA from the donor egg.
The UK has conducted several scientific and ethical studies on the issue since 2011, which concluded that the technology was potentially safe and ethical. But some researchers have argued that not enough known about the potential side effects of the art.
After several hours of debate, the Lords rejected a proposal of the law amendment that would set up a committee to further investigate the potential risks of the technique. They then quickly approved the proposed regulations.
Opponents of the IVF method expressed dismay after. "Unlike experimental gene therapies where risks are taken by consenting individuals, these techniques are transforming our children in biological experiments and alter forever human germline unknowable way. There is no precedent for this," said Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, which argued against the approval of the art. "We call on those who have supported moving forward with these techniques to make it clear that other types of changes heritable genetic remain off-limits. "
in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has asked the Institute of medicine to study the ethical and scientific issues involved in the art and published a consensus report . the next meeting of the committee of experts is scheduled for March 31.
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