Groundbreaking IVF procedure yields 8 healthy babies
UK doctors have welcomed eight healthy babies thanks to a cutting-edge IVF method called mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT).
This "three-parent" technique mixes DNA from three people to stop rare mitochondrial diseases, which can cause serious organ problems and are only passed down from moms.
How the '3-parent' technique works
Doctors take the parents' main DNA and place it into a donor egg with healthy mitochondria, creating embryos without the faulty genes.
Since 2017, Newcastle University's team has seen several successes—including identical twins—and recent genetic tests show these new babies have almost no trace of the disease-causing mutations.
All 8 babies are healthy
All eight babies are healthy. Five had no medical issues at all; three had treatable conditions unrelated to mitochondrial disease.
Doctors say this is a big step forward for families facing inherited mitochondrial disorders.
These births show science can help prevent devastating diseases
For families where every egg carries harmful mutations, MDT offers real hope when other options don't work.
These births show science can help prevent devastating diseases before they start.
Doctors will keep tracking these kids as they grow to make sure MDT stays safe and effective.