[attach id=242935 size="medium"]Fifty-six per cent said they were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ positive about techniques which could prevent mitochondrial disease by altering genetic make-up during IVF.[/attach]
Members of the British public broadly support the creation of IVF babies with three genetic parents in order to defeat inherited disease.
A majority of Britons back controversial mitochondrial replacement techniques that could affect generations to come, fertility regulators found.
However, a large proportion of people were unsure or undecided about what they thought of the currently illegal procedures.
Results from a major consultation exercise conducted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) were delivered to the UK Government yesterday.
Policies and safeguards for the treatments were also set out by the Authority.
The public vote of support clears away a major hurdle in the path of changing the law to allow mitochondrial replacement.
But the HFEA fell short of explicitly recommending the move that would permit children to be conceived with the help of DNA donated by a second “mother”.
Instead, it was left to ministers to decide whether they should ask Parliament to agree to the procedures.
Experts believe mitochondrial replacement could lead to the eradication of a host of serious inherited diseases.
Critics argue that it is the start of a slippery slope towards “designer” babies and eugenics.
Mitochondria are rod-shaped power plants in cells that supply energy. They contain their own DNA which is only passed onto offspring by mothers.
Defects in mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) give rise to a range of potentially life-threatening diseases, including a form of muscular dystrophy and conditions leading to the loss of hearing and vision, heart problems and bowel disorders.
One in 200 children are born with a mitochondrial disease each year in the UK, and an estimated 6,000 adults are believed to be affected by the conditions.
Critics argue that it is the start of a slippery slope towards ‘designer’ babies and eugenics
The new techniques result in the damaged mDNA being replaced by a healthy version supplied by the female donor.
In the public consultation, 56 per cent of those questioned said they were “very” or “fairly” positive about techniques which could prevent mitochondrial disease by altering genetic make-up during IVF.
A tenth were “very” or “fairly” negative, and a third were undecided or unsure.
Patient focus group participants were “extremely positive” about the techniques, said the HFEA, though some wanted clarification of the risks.
For newcomers to the topic, the potential benefits of thetechniques outweighed concerns about the potential dangers.
In its advice, the HFEA said clinics wishing to offer mitochondrial replacement should be specifically licensed. It also insisted that the Authority should approve each use of the procedures, at least initially.
Children should not have an automatic right to know the identify of mitochondrial donors, although this could occur by mutual consent, said the HFEA.
It also called for a further safety assessment once a clinic had applied to carry out one of the techniques. This followed advice from scientists that more research was needed despite there being no evidence that mitochondrial replacement is unsafe.
Professor Lisa Jardine, chair of the HFEA, said: “The Government has asked us to take the public temperature on this important and emotive issue and that is what we’ve done.
“We’ve found that there is broad support for permitting mitochondria replacement, to give families at risk of mitochondrial disease the chance of having a healthy child.
“Although some people have concerns about the safety of these techniques, we found that they trust the scientific experts and the regulator to know when it is appropriate to make them available to patients.”