Nuffield Council on Bioethics Report: Novel Techniques for the prevention of mitochondrial DNA disorders: an ethical review London: Nuffield Council of Bioethics 2012

Nina Hallowell

doi:10.1186/1746-5354-8-2-29

Abstract

Before arriving at its conclusions the working party considered a number of ethical issues including: the implications for identity; risks and safety issues; the impact upon social relationships (parentage and the status of mtDNA donors); germline modification; and implications for the wider society and future generations. As might be expected, given the credentials of the working group members, the discussion of these issues is thorough and thoughtful, and although I may not agree with their final recommendations, these are backed by reasoned argument. The Nuffield report also makes a series of observations about the potential regulatory and social status of the mtDNA donor and the clinical implementation of these technologies. Regarding the latter, it recommends that if these techniques are used in clinical settings, then long-term follow-up studies of any children born should be carried out. While I agree that we would need a thorough investigation of the intergenerational risks posed by the use of these techniques and that one of the only

Highlights

Before arriving at its conclusions the working party considered a number of ethical issues including: the implications for identity; risks and safety issues; the impact upon social relationships; germline modification; and implications for the wider society and future generations
The Nuffield report makes a series of observations about the potential regulatory and social status of the mtDNA donor and the clinical implementation of these technologies
This emphasis on these issues reflects the fact that in endorsing the development of pronuclear transfer (PNT) and maternal spindle transfer (MST) for clinical use the Nuffield Council has taken the step of supporting the use of germline modification techniques in humans – germline therapy – (4.35) for the first time

Summary

Introduction

Before arriving at its conclusions the working party considered a number of ethical issues including: the implications for identity; risks and safety issues; the impact upon social relationships (parentage and the status of mtDNA donors); germline modification; and implications for the wider society and future generations. The Nuffield report makes a series of observations about the potential regulatory and social status of the mtDNA donor and the clinical implementation of these technologies. This emphasis on these issues reflects the fact that in endorsing the development of PNT and MST for clinical use the Nuffield Council has taken the step of supporting the use of germline modification techniques in humans – germline therapy – (4.35) for the first time.

Results

Conclusion