Britain approved the creation of embryos with the DNA of three people

BBCBritain has become the first country to legalize the creation of embryos using the DNA of a third person – a method to prevent the transmission of severe genetic disorders from mother to child.

The House of Lords on Tuesday rejected an attempt to block the entry into force of a law previously approved in the House of Commons.

The method consists in replacing mitochondria from the egg of a mother at risk with a small amount of DNA from a female donor during the IVF procedure (in vitro fertilization).

The child conceived in this way will have more than 22 thousand genes of the parents and only 37 genes of the donor. Mitochondrial DNA does not affect appearance and personality characteristics, but defects in it lead to serious diseases associated with blindness, impaired brain function and heart failure.

Now the British authorities will have to develop rules for licensing medical institutions for such a procedure. The first child, whose cells will contain DNA elements from three people, may be born in the country next year.

Opponents of this innovation, including religious groups, believe that the legalization of such modifications of the embryo can become a stage on the way to the creation of "designer babies" and eugenics.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru25.02.2015