Advances in assisted reproduction techniques never cease to surprise us, rekindling the debate about "designer babies" over and over again. One of the latest revolutions that have occurred in the world of in vitro fertilization comes from United Kingdom, where I know allows the creation of children of three genetic parents.
The British government has given the green light to an in vitro fertilization treatment that could begin to be practiced within two years, which uses the DNA of three people in order to prevent the development of mitochondrial diseases.
We will try to explain it as simple as possible. Mitochondrial diseases are those caused by deficiency of one or more proteins in the mitochondria, small parts of the cells that supply most of the energy for the functioning of vital organs. If these fail, they can affect the heart, brain and muscles causing serious diseases with motor, mental or neurological retardation.
All mitochondria that are transmitted to a child they come only from the mother. If the mother has a mitochondrial disease, all her children will inherit it. Therefore, scientists sought a way to prevent this from happening by involving mitochondria in the process. a third person, another female egg donor with healthy mitochondria.
The nucleus of the ovule from which the embryo is formed, which contains 99.98% of its DNA remains that of the mother, but a small part of the DNA of a healthy third donor, the mitochondria, is transferred. This genetic modification of the embryo It has been called "mitochondrial transfer".
The question is where are the limits for the new techniques that are being discovered. On the one hand, for many the creation of children of three genetic parents This is great news, since it will allow many couples to be biological parents. But on the other, it revives the debate about manufacturing design human beings, replacing a defective part with a good one, as if it were a car. What do you think?
