UK medical authorities say they might give the go ahead to a scientific experiment that would result in children being born with three biological parents in a bid to prevent mothers passing on degenerative genetic diseases to their children.

The nucleus of an embryo from an affected mother would be implanted into an egg taken from a donor that has been stripped of its nucleus.

The Newcastle University team developing the technology say they are at least three years away from offering the treatment. If they get approval they will experiment on abnormally fertilised eggs that have come from IVF treatment which would otherwise have been discarded.

However, opponents believe it would represents a step towards the creation of designer babies and raise questions as to who would be the real mother. According to them, the ethical problems and safety risks outweigh any benefits to future generations.

‘We would also be concerned about the safety of any embryo or child born from this method and worried that the technology could be abused by other scientists for different purposes,’ stresses Patrick Cusworth, of the charity Life.

Via Julia Set The Observer.