Leading scientists have appealed to Andrew Lansley to set a timetable for the introduction of a controversial technique known as “three-parent IVF” after a scientific review found no evidence it was unsafe.

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor

The procedure involves swapping genetic material before the IVF embryo is implanted in the womb to prevent the transmission of some of the most severe inherited disorders. But it would lead to permanent changes in the genetic make-up of children that would be passed on to subsequent generations and breaks new ground in IVF research. Mitochondrial disease – mutations in small structures called mitochondria which surround the cell nucleus – is carried by thousands of women and is passed down the maternal line, leading to the birth of about 100 severely disabled children every year. Some women with the disorder have had up to six children who have died because of the severity of their disabilities. In an open letter to the health secretary signed by the heads of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and four other bodies, the scientists said regulations governing use of the gene-switching technique should be drawn up now so it can be introduced without delay once sufficient evidence of its safety and efficacy has been amassed.

Source: INDEPENDENT