HAMAOR MAGAZINE PESACH 5775

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3 parent babies Halachic Perspectives on Mitochondrial Donation 6 HAMAOR
Mendel Photography Dayan Y.Y. Lichtenstein ROSH BEIS DIN On 24th February 2015 the UK became the first country to approve laws to allow the creation of babies using genetic material from three people. The procedure was approved by the House of Lords and is now in the process of being licenced by the fertility regulator. If all goes to plan, the first ‘three-parent baby’ could be born as early as 2016 - but what does Halacha have to say about it? Rosh Beis Din Dayan Y Y Lichtenstein explains the Torah perspective. Recent legislation in the UK has allowed a new medical advance - transfer of nuclear genetic material from the mitochondria of one woman to another, by a technique known as ‘Spindle Transfer’. In plain English, the process can be explained as follows. Mitochondria are tiny energy generators inside cells containing their own little bit of DNA, separate from the genetic material of the nucleus. They supply this energy by producing a chemical known as adenosine triphosphate. These mitochondria, which are found in the egg (but not in the sperm) may occasionally be dysfunctional for a variety of reasons such as mutation, and can then go on to cause what is known as ‘mitochondrial disease’ (inherent chronic illnesses that can be present at birth or go on to develop later in life). Recent evidence indicates mitochondrial damage may also be involved in age-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Parkinson’s. There is no known cure for mitochondrial disease and therefore the impetus has grown for an alternative solution to be developed, in the form of transplanted mitochondria. The preferred method of mitochondrial transfer works in the following way. First, the egg of the woman affected by mitochondrial abnormalities is removed and the nuclear DNA extracted. A donated egg from another woman is taken, its nuclear DNA is then removed leaving behind the healthy mitochondrial DNA. The nuclear DNA of the affected woman is then transplanted into the body of the healthy egg, resulting in an egg which has the DNA of the affected woman, Pesach 5775 / April 2015 HAMAOR 7
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HAMAOR MAGAZINE PESACH 5775

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