World’s first biological ‘three-parent’ baby born
A baby has been born with three biological parents for the first time ever.
The New Scientist broke the news that a five-month-old boy was born, “using a new technique that incorporates DNA from three parents”.
The boy was born to Jordanian parents, thanks to pioneering work from John Zhang and his team at New Hope Fertility Center, New York City.
The couple had sought help as the mother carries the genes for Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder that affects the developing nervous system that was responsible for the deaths of her first two children.
Using a technique known as mitochondrial replacement, doctors were able to extract the nucleus from one of the mother’s eggs, inserting it into a donor egg with a nucleus removed.
The egg was then fertilised with the father’s sperm, meaning the baby has DNA from two mothers and one father – also preventing the disease from being passed on.
As the procedure is not legal in the US, it was carried out in Mexico.
According to the outlet, the findings will be outlined next months at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Scientific Congress.
Last year the UK became the first country to approve a law to allow babies to be created from the DNA of three people using the technique.
The change allows women to have children without passing on the serious and incurable condition.
