World's first 'three-parent' baby born using controversial DNA technique

World first: A baby has been born using a technique involving three parents
New Hope Fertility Centre
Jamie Bullen27 September 2016

The world’s first three-parent baby has been born.

The five-month old boy was born in April but the sensational circumstances surrounding his birth were not revealed until today, New Scientist reported.

The boy’s parents, a Jordanian couple, received treatment for the controversial technique so that their child would not suffer from a genetic mutation.

The child’s mother reportedly carries genes for Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder which affects the nervous system, which was responsible for the death of her previous two children.

The couple were helped by John Zhang, of the New Hope Fertility Clinic in New York, who has been working on a three-parent technique to avoid genetic diseases being passed down to newborns.

The treatment, which was recently given legal approval in the UK, was apparently carried out by scientists in Mexico because the procedure was not permitted in the US.

Because the couple were Muslims, Dr Zhang used a specific technique for the birth that did not result in the destruction of embryos.

He removed the nucleus from one of the mother’s eggs and placed it into a donor egg with its own nucleus removed. The resulting egg was then fertilised with the father’s sperm.

Experts described the birth as “exciting news” with the findings due to be discussed at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Scientific Congress in Salt Lake City next month.

Dr Zhang told New Scientist: “To save lives is the ethical thing to do.”

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