Eight babies have been born in the UK using pioneering genetic material from three people to prevent incurable and life-threatening mitochondrial diseases, doctors have revealed.
The groundbreaking procedure — developed by scientists at Newcastle University — combines sperm and egg from the biological parents with a donor woman’s healthy mitochondria.
Though legal in the UK for nearly a decade, this is the first concrete evidence that the technique is successfully leading to the birth of healthy children free of mitochondrial disease.
Mitochondria are tiny powerhouses inside cells responsible for producing energy. Defects in them can leave the body starved of energy, resulting in heart failure, seizures, brain damage, muscle weakness, or death in infancy. About one in 5,000 babies are born with such disorders.
Families who went through the treatment, speaking anonymously through the Newcastle Fertility Centre, described the birth of their children as “a miracle” and expressed “overwhelming gratitude” for finally being able to raise healthy babies.
“After years of uncertainty this treatment gave us hope – and then it gave us our baby,” said one mother.
The babies, four boys and four girls including a set of twins, were born free of mitochondrial disease and are meeting normal developmental milestones, according to reports published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Although some minor health issues such as epilepsy and abnormal heart rhythms have been observed, doctors said these are not linked to the mitochondrial technique and could be typical of IVF pregnancies.
Experts hailed the achievement as historic. “To see the relief and joy in the faces of the parents of these babies… it’s brilliant,” said Prof Bobby McFarland, director of the NHS Highly Specialised Service for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders.
The success also brings new hope to families living with the devastating impact of the disease. Kat Kitto, whose daughter Poppy, 14, suffers from severe mitochondrial disease, said the breakthrough offers future generations the chance of a normal life.
The UK remains the only country in the world to have legalised the three-person baby technique following a heated parliamentary debate in 2015, which sparked controversy over the permanent genetic changes passed to future generations.
Nevertheless, campaigners say the development is a victory for science, legislation, and families. Liz Curtis, founder of the Lily Foundation, called it “the first real hope of breaking the cycle of this inherited condition.”
