The usual DNA from his Mother and Father, Plus a tiny bit of Genetic Code from a Donor
New Three Person Fertility Technique
- The World's First baby has been born using a "new three person fertility technique", New Scientist reveals.
- The baby boy has the usual DNA from his mum and dad, plus a tiny bit of genetic code from a donor.
- US doctors took the unprecedented step to ensure the baby boy would be free of a genetic condition that his Jordanian mother carries in her genes.
- Experts say the move heralds a new era in medicine and could help other families with rare genetic conditions.
- It is an entirely new method in fertilizing babies that have DNA from three people, the breakthrough that began in the late 1990s.
Three person babies
- Mitochondria are tiny structures inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into usable energy.
- Some women carry genetic defects in mitochondria and they can pass these on to their children.
- In the case of the Jordanian family, it was a disorder called Leigh Syndrome that would have proved fatal to any baby conceived.
- The family had already experienced the heartache of four miscarriages as well as the death of two children - one at eight months and the other at six years of age.a
Source: All India Radio - Prasa Bharti, BBC News