Friedman Ross, MD, PhD, discusses an innovative treatment for a set of rare mitochondrial diseases. About 1/400 people have a maternally inherited mutation in their mitochondrial DNA. These mutations lead to many different diseases. All are rare. The technology to treat such diseases involves transferring mitochondria into oocytes.
The ethics and politics are complicated because research on this technology can only be done on embryos and, in the United States, it is illegal to provide federal funding for such research. Thus, the research will either be done in other countries or be done privately. She concludes that, although more research is needed, mitochondrial replacement technology appears to be safe in the short term. Research should focus on the long-term safety and efficacy.
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