Britain Ponders ‘three-person embryos’ to Combat Genetic Diseases

Ian Sample
The Guardian
March 20, 2013

The government is considering whether to propose legal changes that would allow radical new treatments for families at risk of incurable genetic diseases that involve the creation of so-called “three-person embryos”.

A national consultation released on Wednesday by the UK’s fertility watchdog found public support for techniques that involve introducing DNA from a third person to embryos which could prevent mothers from passing on devastating diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, to their children.

If ministers and MPs give the procedures the green light, Britain would become the first country to offer treatments that lead to children being born with DNA from three people: their parents and a woman donor. The amount of DNA from the donor is tiny compared with the parents.

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This article was posted: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 11:21 am

Tags: science, technology

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