A small but devastating range of diseases are caused by genes encoded within the mitochondria, not the chromosomal DNA. These mitochondria, the “energy factories” for the cell, are always inherited from mum. In principle these diseases could be “cured” by using an egg donated by a woman who does not have the mutation. However, this is a new level of genetic manipulation of humans and therefore the technique is controversial.
Reports on the ethics of mitochondrial donation have previously been published by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/topic/mitochondrial-donation) and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (http://www.hfea.gov.uk/6896.html)
This video was produced by 2nd Year Medical Biochemistry students at the University of Leicester (UK) as an assessed piece of work.
Production credits: The video is the work of Folasade Falowo, Amy Gregory Jones, Alice Haworth and Sneha Upadhyaya.
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