Public Opinion to be Considered Before Making “Three Parent” IVF Legal

The Department of Health in Britain has revealed that public opinion will be taken into consideration when deciding whether to make the controversial “three parent” IVF treatment legal. The controversial technique is expected reduce the number of babies born every year with defects in their mitochondria, a structure present in the cell that surrounds the nucleus. More than a 100 babies are born every year with such defects, leading to incurable diseases and it is estimated that more than 12,000 people in Britain are currently suffering from the disease.

The technique involved taking one egg from the mother and another from the donor. The nucleus of the donor egg, which contains the DNA, is then removed and replaced by the nucleus from the mother’s egg.

Though the contribution of the DNA from the donor egg is very small, a number of people believe that it is a dangerous practice and are against making the technique legal. Stating that such a technique is unethical, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said, “Scientists should abandon the spurious field of destructive embryo experimentation and instead promote the ethical alternative of adult stem-cell research, which is already providing cures and treatments for the same conditions.”



Source-Medindia