Social media has gone into frenzy after a baby with three people’s DNA was born in the United Kingdom
The technique is designed to prevent children from being born with devastating mitochondrial disease – a long-term, genetic and often inherited disorder that occur when mitochondria fail to carry out their function of producing energy for cells in the body.
Most of the child’s DNA came from its two parents but about 0.1 per cent was from a third person, another woman.
The DNA from the second woman only affects the mitochondria, and did not affect other key traits in the child such as appearance.
Speaking about the scientific technique, the chief executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), Peter Thompson, said, “Mitochondrial donation treatment offers families with severe inherited mitochondrial illness the possibility of a healthy child.
“The UK was the first country in the world to allow mitochondrial donation treatment within a regulatory environment. The HFEA oversee a robust framework which ensures that mitochondrial donation is provided in a safe and ethical manner”, he added.
See reactions:
@JToyts: Shouldn’t be playing God 🤦🏻♂️
@kandiiXkitten: Doctors “play god” every single day when they stop people from dying. so what makes that okay but not this?
@jakep316: Why? This is like a sci-fi story that ends in a mutant takeover.
@treycolleyy: I believe this actually super common in the animal kingdom. You’ll notice a ton of different genes come out when a female has had multiple
male partners. Like a hen mating with multiple roosters. You’ll see genes from both roosters in the chicks.
@carlimorton: Damn I’m curious to see the lil hybrid.
@juleesssy: the end times are near.
@MoeOCMs: So are they going to be X X Y?
@goodapplejokes: Ok it’s gene therapy to replace the defective mitochondria in the egg. Ours not some chimera stuff.
@iamRichyPerry: Soon we will start ordering customized babies from Amazon and AliExpress.
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