Britain: 1st babies born in country using DNA from 3 people

By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s fertility regulator says the first babies created using an experimental technique combining DNA from three people have been born, in an effort to prevent the children from inheriting rare genetic diseases. Britain’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said fewer than five babies have been born this way, but no further details have been released to protect the families’ identities. The U.K. was the first country in the world to adopt legislation on such methods, which help prevent women with faulty mitochondria from passing on to their babies defects that can result in diseases such as muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, heart problems and intellectual disabilities.