In the UK, a groundbreaking experimental fertility technique has resulted in multiple babies born with DNA from three different people.
The method, known as mitochondrial donation treatment, takes genetic material from a fertilized egg and transfers it to a donor egg or embryo, with part of its DNA removed, The Guardian reported.
The technique is meant to prevent children from inheriting genetic diseases like muscular dystrophy and epilepsy.
The donated egg, or "third person," accounts for less than 1% of the child's DNA.
The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, which oversees the treatment, did not identify the babies born using this method but said the total number is fewer than five, the Associated Press reported.
"Mitochondrial donation treatment offers families with severe inherited mitochondrial illness the possibility of a healthy child," the authority said in a statement.
As of May 10, 32 patients have been approved for the procedure, health officials said -- adding only people who are at a very high risk of passing a serious mitochondrial disease onto their children are eligible for treatment.
"These are decisions made on an individual case by case basis where there are no other options for the families involved and in strict accordance with the law," the authority said.
Mitochondrial donation treatment can be performed in two ways. The main focus is on the biological mother's eggs, since babies inherit all their mitochondria from their mother. Both techniques involve removing unhealthy mitochondria from the mother's eggs while preserving other nuclear material.
With maternal spindle transfer, key DNA is taken from the mother's eggs and transferred into donated eggs which have had their DNA removed. The eggs are then fertilized with sperm to create embryos, which are transferred back into the mother's womb.
The other method is known as pronuclear transfer. That technique involves fertilizing both the mother's eggs and the donor eggs with sperm. DNA from the biological parents' embryos is then taken and transferred into the donor embryos, which have their key DNA removed. The embryos are then transferred back into the mother's womb.
Health officials say both techniques work equally well.
The woman who donates the egg is not considered the genetic parent of the resulting child and has no legal rights or responsibilities, and they remain anonymous, according to the authority.
The UK is the first country in the world to regulate mitochondrial donation. Meantime, the world's first baby born using the technique was reported in the U.S. in 2016, according to the AP.
Critics of the experimental treatment argue there are other ways to avoid passing down genetic diseases to children. They're also concerned that the method has not been proven safe over the long-term.
The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority acknowledged "these are still early days for mitochondrial donation treatment," adding that it "continues to review clinical and scientific developments."
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