First child born in the UK with three parents

A baby has been born with the DNA of three people for the first time in the UK, following the use of a pioneering form of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The procedure, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), combines tissues from the eggs of a female donor to create IVF embryos free from hereditary illnesses that would potentially be passed to a child during a conventional pregnancy. The biological parents contribute more than 99.8% of the baby’s DNA, which controls key characteristics such as personality, eye and hair color. Around 37 genes can be directly traced to the donor.