At the moment, this is being used for very serious diseases. But could it be used for anything else? Are there other applications that we could see in the pipeline? We get to the stage of considering what is a genetic disease. This applies to the whole of prenatal genetic testing as well.
The pioneering IVF procedure known as mitochondrial donation therapy (MDT) could prevent children from being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Darren Griffin, an expert in genetic diseases and reproduction, about how MDT works, the ethical considerations attached, and what techniques like it could mean for the future of reproduction. Help support our independent journalism at
theguardian.com/sciencepod