Mitochondrial replacement therapy is a controversial technique used in IVF to help prevent mitochondrial diseases in children by combining the DNA from two parents with healthy mitochondria from a third person
The resulting embryo has DNA from two parents and a tiny amount of genetic material from the donor, but the donor's mitochondrial DNA does not influence traits such as eye or hair color.
The technique is legal in the UK and Australia, but banned in the US and Canada.
Despite the fact that the donor is anonymous, some argue that children conceived through this process should have the right to find out their donor's identity.
A study by the University of Cambridge Centre for Family Research has found that children born through egg donation have good relationships with their parents and high levels of psychological wellbeing, even though 50% of their genes come from an egg donor.
This suggests that children born through mitochondrial donation, where only mitochondrial DNA comes from the egg donor, may also benefit from open communication about their donor origins and have good relationships with their parents.
Families created with the help of sperm donation have also shown that children benefit from being told about their donor conception when they are young.
These findings may have wider implications for the issue of openness versus secrecy around donor conception and the use of three-person IVF to prevent mitochondrial diseases.
The article discusses the benefits of openness in sperm donation and the importance of children knowing their genetic origins.
Dr. Gartrell, a psychiatrist and researcher, argues that openness and the opportunity to contact the donor at an age-appropriate time are more beneficial for children than concealing it.
She also notes that informing children of mitochondrial donation that prevented a fatal disease may be important medically.
The article suggests that the children themselves may be less fazed by their origins than the public and that societies still show varying attitudes to standard IVF.