'Three-parent-babies': calls for Australia to reconsider ban on donor DNA

Australian authorities have been urged to rethink their position on the use of donor DNA after Britain became the first country in the world to allow babies to be created from the DNA of three people.

The Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation said it had been lobbying the Federal Government to change its position on donor DNA and was hopeful authorities would launch a review following the developments in Britain.

British MPs voted 382-128 to allow the controversial procedure after years of debate and medical research.

Under the change IVF embryos would still include the traditional DNA from the nucleus of the mother and father's cells, but the mitochondria that are in the area around the nucleus could be donated from a third source.

The nucleus DNA contains the information that identifies individual traits such as eye and hair colour, where as the mitochondria work to turn food into energy.

The foundation's chief executive, Sean Murray, said the Government last reviewed Australian laws in 2011 and it decided to enforce the status quo, meaning the use of donor DNA was banned.

"Since that time the Mitochondrial Disease Foundation has been working with and communicating with the Australian Government to urge it to consider its position and review its position in relation to that and we hope that that's something that will be forthcoming shortly," Mr Murray said.

"I think a lot hinges on what progresses there in the UK. I think it will be inevitable now that such a rigorous and considered process has been undertaken."

In Australia, about 500 people have a diagnosed mitochondrial condition and it is estimated one in 5,000 babies born will develop a life-threatening form of mitochondrial disease.

Mitochondrial disease affects all the major organ systems and can be debilitating, with symptoms ranging from vision loss to liver and respiratory disease.

"We think that it's important that we offer every possible therapy that we can to patients who have been exposed to this horrible disease," Mr Murray said.

He said the term "three-parent baby" was a stretch, given it involved a miniscule amount of donated DNA.

Opponents of the move include scientists and religious leaders, while others fear the change opens the way to the possibility of "designer babies" in future.

"This particular mitochondrial donation technique would be akin to changing the batteries in a watch or the spark plugs in a car; it's certainly not the kind of thing that some people are talking about around designer babies," Mr Murray said.

"We're talking about preventing the transmission of a potentially life-threatening disease from mother to child here."

The bill is expected to be rubber-stamped by the British House of Lords - the upper chamber of parliament - later this month, paving way for the procedure to begin next year.

Fears of 'designer babies'

Many Britons are still against the proposed change despite years of consultation by health authorities with the public and the scientific community.

The Roman Catholic Church is firmly opposed to the move, pointing out that it would involve the destruction of human embryos as part of the process.

The Church of England has also said ethical concerns had "not been sufficiently explored".

There is also concern on purely scientific grounds.

Justin St John from the Centre for Genetic Diseases at Monash University in Australia said the new IVF techniques required "further validation".

"It is essential to analyse offspring to determine that no abnormalities appear at least during early life," he said in a statement last week.