I believe the use of mitochondrial DNA replacement therapy (MRT), which is a method to avoid mitochondrial mutations being passed down to children, should be allowed. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother, and mutations in mtDNA can cause debilitating, and sometimes fatal, diseases. MRT replaces mutated mtDNA from the mother\u2019s egg with healthy mtDNA from a donor egg. While MRT raises important concerns involving the safety of the procedure, genetic modification of heritable traits, and long-term risks, the potential to prevent mitochondrial diseases outweighs these risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For women who have lots of mtDNA mutations, MRT offers the only way to have biological children without passing on diseases. This can reduce the emotional, psychological, and financial stress associated with raising a child that has a severe genetic disorder. The parents are informed of the risks and should get to make whatever decision they believe is best for their family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are concerns about the safety of the mitochondrial replacement therapy procedures. Transferring mtDNA is a risk since there are still many unknowns. On top of that, the results are irreversible, meaning any mistakes, or negative side effects, can\u2019t be reversed and can be passed down to future generations. Although these are valid concerns, there has been quite a bit of research on this. This is also the only way to give some parents the possibility of biological kids without severe diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MRT does affect the germline, which means any changes can be passed down to future generations. This raises the ethical issue of being a slippery slope for further genetic alterations to people. While an understandable concern, MRT doesn\u2019t actually alter DNA, personality, etc. There is no genetic enhancement aspect, instead MRT focuses on causing everything to function properly. There are also regulations that prohibit things like that outside of therapeutic use. The child benefits from the prevention of lifelong suffering from mitochondrial disease, and they still inherit 99% of their DNA from their parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opponents argue that MRT could have unforeseen genetic interactions or lead to the reversion of mutant mtDNA. While these concerns do warrant monitoring, early results show very low levels of harmful mtDNA carryover. This indicates that the long term effects have a good chance of not being detrimental to the child. The diseases from mutant mitochondria would also lead to a very difficult, painful life for the child, while MRT gives them a chance to live a normal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are other options that avoid technological risk, but they don\u2019t allow parents to have biological offspring. While fine for some families, they don\u2019t those who value having biological kids or who live in cultures where adoption carries stigma or isn\u2019t an option. MRT is the only method that can reliably prevent disease in these cases. Mitochondrial DNA replacement therapy is a scientifically supported method to prevent debilitating genetic diseases. With the proper monitoring and informed consent, MRT is a great option for families while minimizing risks. Denying access to this therapy would ignore both scientific progress and the moral duty to prevent suffering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I believe the use of mitochondrial DNA replacement therapy (MRT), which is a method to avoid mitochondrial mutations being passed down to children, should be allowed. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother, and mutations in mtDNA can cause debilitating,… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28089,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions\/331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/ahersey-biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}