By - - NUFFIELD COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS
Added: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:50:03 UTC

The Council has launched a call for evidence on the ethical issues raised by techniques to prevent the transmission of inherited mitochondrial disorders.       

These techniques could be used in combination with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and gamete donation to prevent children from being born with inherited mitochondrial disorders. At present, there are no known cures for these disorders, which can cause severe symptoms such as heart failure, liver failure and blindness, and may cause death in babies, children and young people. Approximately one in 250 live births, and at least one in 10,000 adults in the UK are affected by mitochondrial disorders.

Research is currently at an experimental stage on these techniques, which use healthy mitochondria from a donor to replace the mother’s unhealthy mitochondria at the point of reproduction. However, it is currently unlawful in the UK to offer such techniques for treatment.

The Council set up a Working Group to explore the ethical issues raised by mitochondrial donation in November 2011. The Working Group will consider the evidence it receives before publishing a final report later this year. The final report is intended to identify the ethical questions raised by these emerging technologies, and to elaborate these issues with a view to stimulating and informing further discussion, deliberation and debate.

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TAGGED: GENETICS