Health

8 Healthy Babies Born in UK Using Three People's DNA

JUL 17 2025·Updated JUL 18 2025

Story

Above: In the cell laboratory at the Fertility Center Berlin, Germany an electron microscope is used to fertilize an egg cell. Image credit: Jens Kalaene/picture alliance/Getty Images

The Facts

Eight babies have been born in the U.K. using mitochondrial donation technology, which combines DNA from three people to prevent devastating inherited diseases, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine by teams from Newcastle University and Monash University on Wednesday.
EuroNews
MIT Technology Review
The Times (UK)
The procedure involves fertilizing eggs from both the mother and a donor with the father's sperm, then transferring the parents' nuclear DNA into the donor's egg, which contains healthy mitochondria.
guardian
New Scientist
Nature
Seven women gave birth to eight children, including one set of twins, after 22 families underwent the treatment at Newcastle Fertility Centre, with all babies showing no signs of mitochondrial disease and meeting developmental milestones.
CNN
BBC News
The Telegraph
guardian
The quantity of mutated mitochondrial DNA dropped 95 and 100% for six babies. In the other two cases, it dropped between 77% and 88% — considered below the disease causing threshold.
Al Jazeera
MIT Technology Review
Daily Mail
The technique became legal in the U.K. in 2015 following parliamentary approval. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority granted Newcastle the first license in 2017 to perform the procedure.
guardian
EuroNews
The Times (UK)
Mitochondrial diseases affect approximately one in 5,000 newborns and can cause severe symptoms including seizures, muscle weakness, organ failure and early death, with no current cure available for these inherited conditions.
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BBC News
Ninds

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The Spin

Techno-optimist narrative

This breakthrough represents a triumph of scientific innovation, offering genuine hope to families devastated by mitochondrial diseases. The technique prevents children from inheriting conditions that cause immense suffering and early death. Eight healthy babies prove this technology works safely and effectively.

guardian

EuroNews

Techno-skeptic narrative

The results raise serious concerns about safety and transparency after nearly a decade of development. Only eight babies from 22 families hardly justify the massive investment, and three children still carry mutated DNA that could cause future problems. The lack of public updates to date indicates a troubling level of secrecy.