UK may allow 3 parent babies

Paul Tully from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said the "three parent" IVF technique is a "step" towards designer babies.

Mr Tully told ITV News: "It is a change that can be passed on to future generations, and we are manipulating the genes of a child.

"We're concerned that we are replacing what we know to be defective DNA in the embryos that we don't like with what we think is good DNA - but we can't be sure.

"Putting the money into this kind of research is denying funding to research which is needed and ongoing to help people with mitochondrial diseases and other diseases in other ways.

"We've seen the same thing before with stem cell research, we've seen it with IVF - promises that using embryos will lead to advances but come to nothing.

Dr David King, director of Human Genetics Alert, told ITV News the "three parent" IVF technique crosses a "crucial ethical line":

Genetic Alliance UK has welcomed the "three parent" IVF technique proposal.

The charity's director, Alastair Kent, said: "Many of these [mitochondrial] conditions are so severe that they are lethal in infancy, creating a lasting impact upon the child's family.

"An added option for families at risk of having a child with such a condition is welcome".

Experts said the technique would likely be used in around a dozen IVF cases every year.

The director of the Human Genetics Alert campaign group said the IVF technique used to create babies with three genetic parents is "unnecessary" and "ethically unsound".

Dr David King also criticised the Government for failing to conduct a more comprehensive public consultation on the issue.

Dr King told Reuters, "They cross the ethical line that has been agreed by Governments around the world that we should not genetically alter human beings".

Read: UK may allow 3 parent babies

Some groups say the proposals for three parent babies are causing worldwide concern:

The Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies, explains that the 'three parent' technique does not tamper with the nucleus. It simply moves it into a cell which has healthy 'battery packs', known as mitochondria, which power the nucleus properly and eradicate serious disease.

A recent public consultation found that 56% of those questioned were "very" or "fairly" positive about the treatments. Patient focus groups were said to be "extremely positive". Experts are also behind the procedures.

The aim of this form of IVF is to stamp out serious diseases which can be passed from a mother to her children. Around one in 200 babies are born each year in the UK with a defect in the way cells are supplied with energy.

One in 6,500 babies can suffer potentially life-threatening diseases including a form of muscular dystrophy and conditions leading to hearing and vision loss, heart, lung and liver problems, and bowel disorders. An estimated 12,000 people in the UK live with the diseases.

• If the new technique gets the go-ahead only a tiny amount of DNA in a cell will be changed
• The part that determines individual characteristics such as facial features and eye colour, will remain intact

• But the defective DNA will be replaced by a healthy version supplied by a female donor, making them the third genetic parent