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Introduction
Children born since the mid-1990s after ooplasm transfer (estimated to be few in number), and future children that may be born following mitochondrial replacement, have been dubbed ‘children with three genetic parents’: a man who contributes nuclear DNA, a woman who contributes nuclear DNA, and a woman who contributes healthy mtDNA (Anonymous, 2008, Hayden, 2008, Nuffield Council, 2012, Whitehouse, 2001). For some, this description is both misleading and a misplaced attempt at sensationalism; for others, the intentional genetic engineering of future children using genetic material from three persons is ethically objectionable and, for this reason, the underlying research should not proceed.
Mitochondrial replacement
When the mitochondria inside cells do not function properly, the consequences can be devastating. Mitochondrial diseases can result in serious health problems including neurodegenerative disease, stroke-like episodes, blindness, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and deafness and can lead to death in newborns, children and young adults. Mitochondrial diseases can be caused by mutations in nuclear DNA that affect the functioning of the mitochondria or by mutations in mitochondrial DNA...