For the first time, doctors in Kiev, Ukraine performed a controversial in vitro fertilization (IVF) technique to help a previously infertile couple conceive and deliver a baby girl. The baby was born on January 5, 2017, as a result of an experimental technique known as “pronuclear transfer”—colloquially known as three-parent-IVF. Dr. Valery Zukin, director of the Nadiya Clinic for Reproductive Health, said the mother suffered from “unexplained infertility” and did not have mitochondrial disease.
The controversy around the three-parent-IVF procedure is worldwide in scope. In 2015, the U.K. approved pronuclear transfer, but only for women suffering from mitochondrial disease. The technique is usually only considered for male babies because they drop off their mother’s mitochondrial DNA. Doctors in the U.S. performed cytoplasmic transfers until the early 2000s when the FDA began to regulate the procedure.
The New IVF Procedure
In Ukraine, pronuclear transfer politics are simple—there are no laws prohibiting it. Nonetheless, Zukin’s team did extensive genetic testing before fertilization. They used amniocentesis once the patient became pregnant to test the fetus’ DNA and monitor the baby for disease and any genetic abnormalities that could have occurred. Dr. Zukin says they’ll continue to monitor the child for at least five more years.
The IVF procedure used a virus protein to fuse the mitochondrial DNA into the host egg. Some believe this IVF technique is outdated, as the virus will permanently integrate into the baby’s DNA. A newer electronic transfer system, while more difficult to implement and accomplish, is safer, according to Dr. John Zhang of the New Hope Fertility Center in New York.
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| Medical tourism is on the rise, creating many ethical and legal questions. Source: cdc.gov |
Will We See More of This Procedure?
Ultimately, procedures like pronuclear transfer will become more common throughout the world in IVF treatments, as many couples with fertility problems wish to be genetically connected to their babies. Zukin said that more than half of his patients prefer to be childless when they can’t use their own egg.
Medical tourism—traveling around the world to solve your medical issues-- is increasing as people look to solve their problems where it’s legal. As a result, a global consensus is needed on these issues, for safety and ethical reasons.
