HFEA responds to birth of ‘three-person baby’

A spokesperson for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK fertility regulator, said:

“The UK was the first country in the world to regulate mitochondrial donation following extensive public debate and changes in the law. There is only one clinic in the UK licensed by us to carry out this treatment, the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life.

“Each application for treatment is considered by us on an individual basis for patients who have a very high risk of having a child with a life-threatening mitochondrial disease, to give them the chance of a healthy, genetically related child. There is limited evidence on risks and success rates, and it should only be used cautiously in cases where alternative treatments would be of little or no benefit.”

ENDS

For interview requests or further information, contact the HFEA Press Office on 020 7291 8200, or email: Press.Office@hfea.gov.uk

Notes to editors

The HFEA is the UK’s independent regulator of fertility treatment and research using human embryos.

Set up in 1990 by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, the HFEA is responsible for licensing, monitoring and inspecting fertility clinics to ensure patients and everyone born through fertility treatment receives high quality care.

The HFEA is an ‘arm’s length body’ of the Department of Health, working independently from Government providing free, clear and impartial information about fertility treatment, clinics and egg, sperm and embryo donation.

The HFEA is funded by licence fees, IVF treatment fees and a grant from UK central government.

For more information visit, www.hfea.gov.uk .