The new mitochondria replacement techniques hold great promise for women with mitochondrial disease who wish to have children who are genetically related to them. If the techniques prove safe and are approved for use in clinics, it will mean that these women will be able to have genetically related children who are free from disease. In addition the risk of passing on mitochondrial disease down the family line to future generations will be eliminated.
These techniques, however, involve some medical firsts and therefore raise new ethical and social issues.
Some of these issues have been raised by experts in the field. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics undertook a review and came to conclusions on the ethics of mitochondria replacement in Spring 2012.
Many of the issues were also discussed by people taking part in a series of public dialogue events, run by the HFEA, during Summer 2012.
Explore some of the key issues that have been raised by the public and by experts: