Bioethics Reading

Since I will be absent on Thursday (Jan 26), I have written a writeup on my bioethics reading instead of talking about it during class.

I read the article, UK approves three-person babies, by BBC News. As the article says, some people have genetic defects in their mitochondria. Since mitochondria are passed from mothers to their children, women with genetically defective mitochondria are unable to have healthy children.

The solution is a technique that combines a donor woman's healthy mitochondria with DNA from two parents. Either the parents' nuclei are removed from their embryo and placed into the donor embryo, or the mother's nucleus is removed from one of her eggs and placed into a donor egg. In both cases, the parents' embryo or egg is destroyed, as are the donors' nuclei. The resulting babies have 0.1% of the donor woman's DNA and can pass healthy mitochondria to their own children.

Some people believed that this procedure would bring hope to those with defective mitochondria, and would be safe and effective for all. Others questioned whether the babies were legal, voiced safety concerns, and suggested to wait for a safer procedure. It is estimated that 150 couples will be able to have babies using this technique each year.