Mitochondrial donation or three-person IVF (in vitro fertilization) is a fertility method developed to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial diseases from mother to child. This involves the genetic material from three individuals: the mother provides nuclear DNA, the father provides sperm and nuclear DNA, and the donor women provide healthy mitochondria from her egg. This approach involves combining the DNA of two parents with a small amount of healthy mitochondrial DNA from a female donor; consequently, this method has resulted in the birth of eight babies in the UK.
Since 2015, it has been legally permitted in the UK, although the current births are the first publicly confirmed births of children following the process. The births took place at the Newcastle Fertility Centre, a world-renowned center for research and treatment for mitochondrial conditions.
The eight children (four boys and four girls, including a pair of twins) reported doing well and developing normally. Medical teams confirmed that no kids showed even the mildest signs of mitochondrial disease. In one case, a child presented with epilepsy but later resolved, and there is also evidence of a child in treatment for a heart rhythm problem, which appears unrelated to the IVF method.
One mother shared her emotional journey anonymously through the clinic and stated that after years of uncertainty, this treatment has given her hope and a baby. Someone remarked that where once there was the emotional lift of mitochondrial disease, there is now hope, joy, and heartfelt gratitude.
This process begins when both mother and a healthy donor have their eggs fertilized with sperm from the father. Then, very early on during embryo development, the nuclear DNA from the parents (which contains nearly all the genetic instructions for the child) is transferred into the donor embryo, which has healthy mitochondria, but zero nuclear DNA. Therefore, the child has more than 99.9% of their DNA from their parents, with only a trace amount, approximately 0.1%, from the donor. This revolutionary method not only helps families but also alleviates the burden of inherited disease, and it may also prevent future generations from passing it along. Any woman born in this manner may pass the donor’s healthy mitochondrial DNA on to their children.
While science has raised ethical questions surrounding genetic modification, experts stress that the technique is not designed to genetically engineer characteristics, but rather to avoid disease.
The New England Journal of Medicine published two reports on 22 families treated at the Newcastle clinic, resulting in 8 live births and one ongoing pregnancy. In five babies, no defective mitochondria were detected, and low levels were detected in a further three babies, but at a low enough level not to cause disease.
Professor Mary Herbert clearly emphasized that these results bring real hope, but further research is needed to draw a definitive conclusion about this exciting new approach. As a result, the UK announced today the births of eight healthy babies conceived through a novel IVF technique that employed DNA from three people.
References: Gallagher J. Babies made using three people’s DNA are born free of hereditary disease. BBC News. July 14, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8179z199vo
