Report panelist Jeffrey Botkin, M.D., medical ethicist at the University of Utah School of Medicine, is available to media on Feb. 2, 2016 starting at 4:00 p.m. ET under embargo. He has limited availability on Feb. 3 and 4. The embargo lifts on Feb. 3, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. ET. To arrange an interview contact [email protected], 801-597-4258.Newswise — On Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. ET, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) will release recommendations to the FDA regarding ethical and social policy issues in relation to so-called three-parent mitochondrial gene therapy. They state that the technique is "ethically permissible" but recommend that only male embryos created through the procedure be implanted for possible pregnancy. This precaution would prevent any unintended consequences from being passed to future generations.
The report comes on the heels of a decision by U.K. parliament to allow the procedure for women who have mitochondrial disease, a group of highly variable disorders that can cause muscle weakness, heart disease, blindness, dementia and other health issues.
The modified in vitro fertilization technique creates an embryo that has DNA from two parents and healthy mitochondria from a third donor. Mitochondria, tiny compartments in the cell that generate energy, also have their own set of DNA that is independent of nuclear DNA, the genetic blueprints that gives rise to characteristics such as appearance. 0.1% of the baby’s total DNA would be inherited from the “third parent”. Because mtDNA comes only from the mother, male children born from mitochondrial replacement therapy would not pass their modified mitochondria to their children.
The procedure raises a number of ethical considerations: What are the rights of the third donor? How much research must be done before the procedure is considered safe? Is it ethical to manipulate an unborn baby’s genetic material? Why should the procedure be made available when other alternatives, adoption and egg donation, exist?
Jeffrey Botkin, M.D., M.P.H., served on the committee that developed the NASEM report and is available to comment on the ethics, procedure, report, and potential impacts on U.S. policy. He is director of the Utah Center of Excellence in Ethical, Legal, Social Implications Research (UCEER) and professor of pediatrics and medical ethics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. His research and publications are focused on the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic technology with a particular emphasis on research ethics, genetic testing for cancer susceptibility, newborn screening, and prenatal diagnosis. Dr. Botkin is currently a member of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Diseases in Newborns and Children. He Chairs the NIH’s Embryonic Stem Cell Working Group and is a member of the FDA’s Pediatric Ethics Advisory Committee.
To schedule an interview with Botkin, contact Julie Kiefer at [email protected] or 801-597-4258. He has limited availability on Feb. 3 and 4. For more information see the statement from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine or contact them at [email protected].
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