Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : February 2, 2015 10:55 AM IST
London, Feb 1 : Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in Britain might prevent a mother from giving birth to a disease free child. A British mother, Vicky Holliday, 38, is reluctant to have a second child with her partner Keith Newell as their first born child was born with a devastating disease caused by faulty mitochondrial DNA.
Holliday will be the first in Britain to create a baby with three parents and appealed to lawmakers on Sunday to amend the act and allow her to give birth. Holliday is being treated by a British scientist who has spent 15 years developing a technique to use DNA from a second mother alongside her own nucleus and her partner's sperm. (Read: In-Vitro fertilization (IVF): A new hope for the infertile)
The result would be a baby free of the disease. It would take almost all its genetic characteristics from its mother and father but with extra material from a third parent that would then be passed to future generations, the Sunday Times reported.
Holliday's appeal to MPs came ahead of a vote on Tuesday on whether to amend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act to make the method legal. In her appeal, Holliday begged MPs to make Britain the first country to introduce legislation allowing the procedure. 'It's a very exciting moment,' said Holliday, a management consultant in Buckinghamshire. (Read: Top 10 traits of a good IVF patient)
'It would mean so much to us to be able to have a healthy child.' She explained that this treatment would help only them but also others who might face such situations, if MPs vote to allow this treatment.
'When you're given the worst possible news it helps to have a little bit of hope,' she said. Mitochondria are self- contained units within the cell that produce its energy and have many other vital functions, which include producing hormones and other essential compounds. Supporters say the amount of DNA they contain is so small that any alterations will have only a small impact on the child. However, critics counter that this is unproven. The change is being opposed by the Church of England.
Jessica, Holliday's first child had seemed normal when she was born in December 2013. Although flawed mitochondrial DNA is passed down the mother's side, her mother and grandmother were unaffected and there was no reason for anxiety. However, it turned out that Jessica was among the roughly one in 5,000 British children who inherit mitochondrial disorders and at six months her development slowed. Then she started to regress. (Read: Tips to choose the right IVF clinic and doctor)
It is not certain that this technique would be used for Holliday, who is being treated by Doug Turnbull, professor of neurology at Newcastle University. Another method involves implanting the nucleus from her egg into a donated egg before fertilisation, avoiding the need to throw away fused DNA.
With inputs from PTI
Image source: Getty Images
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