Children with Three Parents to Be a Reality?

Children with three genetic parents could soon become a reality if public consultations in the United Kingdom on whether allowing such practice come out in favor of the controversial fertility techniques. The methods, researchers say, would allow women with serious inheritable diseases to avoid passing them on to their children. The conditions, collectively known as mitochondrial disease, can cause severe disability and death. There are two methods under question, one involving the early stage embryo and the other manipulating the egg before it is fertilized. In the first, the genetic material from the mother is removed from the embryo and placed into another early stage embryo with healthy mitochondria from a donor. The second does the same, but before fertilization, so the mother's genetic material is removed from the egg with faulty mitochondria and placed into an unaffected donor egg.

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