“Three-Parent” IVF Trialed for Infertility

A company announces the first pregnancy in a study of whether donor mitochondria can boost IVF’s odds of success.

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Update (April 11): The Guardian reports that the first baby in the trial of three-parent IVF for infertility was born this week (April 9), and that he and his mother are in good health.

In 2016, genetic material from three people was used for the first time to start a pregnancy, in a bid to keep the child from inheriting a disease via his mother’s mitochondrial DNA. The technique used to create a so-called three-parent embryo involves combining mitochondria from one woman’s egg and the nucleus of another’s, then fertilizing it with sperm and implanting it in the uterus. Now, a Spanish company, Embryotools, has announced it is conducting the first clinical trial of the technique to combat infertility and that the project has yielded its first pregnancy.

The technique “may represent a new era in the IVF field, as it could give these patients ...

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Meet the Author

  • Shawna Williams

    Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate and science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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