Another IVF “three-parent” baby has been born in Europe via a “spindle transfer” technique

An infertile woman participating in a pilot clinical trial is now 27 weeks pregnant after undergoing an advanced assisted reproduction technique, researchers say. The IVF procedure-known as maternal spindle transfer (MST)-essentially involves combining material from the egg of the patient with that of a donor.

Expert opinion

Mitochondrial disease can be profoundly devastating. Babies may not survive childhood, or have a variety of problems including muscle weakness, breathing difficulties, fits, vision impairment and deafness. The disease is often worse as it goes down the generations. There is no cure.

Mitochondrial donation is a procedure used to prevent transmission to children. The term three-parent baby is a misnomer. Yes, it involves a donor egg to pass on mitochondria, the power supply of cells. But the donor is not a parent. One wouldn’t call a transplant recipient related in anyway to the person who donated the organ, unless they were already related.

Several babies have been born now using a spindle transfer technique, some with questionable ethical approval. What is not clear is how many defective mitochondria have been carried over during the spindle transfer. Pronuclear Transfer is another technique which may prove promising and is being led by the team in Newcastle.
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