The House of Commons in the UK has voted in approval of third parent donors via a “second mother” to fix faulty genetic material causing Mitochondrial diseases. The process involves using In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to boost mitochondrial genetic coding which is as old as the bacteria of our Primordial soup. Mitochondria DNA, while an evolutionary powerhouse, mutates too quickly and causes debilitating diseases which can develop at any time.
Already, there is talk of malpractice in in the wrong hands considering that this bill would allow more frequent usage of the procedure within a year. Especially in the minds of peoples who believe that it is ethically wrong to bio-engineer children. Seventeen children have been conceived using the technique and only one of them showed early signs of developmental disorder; since then the technology has been strongly discouraged in the U.S. since 2002 and is currently unavailable everywhere in the world.
Alana, one of the first subjects, is now a teen and happily enjoys life as a scientific marvel. This procedure, although, not a cure for Mitochondrial disease, is a pioneering step in human evolution .
Here is a video featuring some facts about the procedure:
