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Three-person baby licence granted Three-person baby licence granted
(35 minutes later)
Doctors in Newcastle have been given the first UK licence by the fertility regulator to create babies from two women and one man. Doctors in Newcastle have been given the first UK licence to create babies from two women and one man, the fertility regulator says.
The advanced form of IVF will be used to prevent children dying from genetic diseases.The advanced form of IVF will be used to prevent children dying from genetic diseases.
The first child could be born, at the earliest, by the end of 2017.The first child could be born, at the earliest, by the end of 2017.
The team at the Newcastle Fertility Centre said it was "good news" and a "momentous day" for patients.The team at the Newcastle Fertility Centre said it was "good news" and a "momentous day" for patients.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. Some families have lost multiple children to incurable mitochondrial diseases, which can leave people with insufficient energy to keep their heart beating.
If you want to receive Breaking News alerts via email, or on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App then details on how to do so are available on this help page. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. The diseases are passed down from only the mother - so a technique using a donor egg as well as the mother's egg and father's sperm has been developed.
The resulting child has a tiny amount of their DNA from the donor, but the procedure is legal and reviews say it is ethical and scientifically ready.
The UK Fertility Regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, must approve every clinic and every patient before the procedure can take place.
The team in Newcastle anticipates helping 25 couples every year.
Prof Sir Doug Turnbull, the director of the Wellcome Centre for mitochondrial research at Newcastle University, said: "I am delighted for patients as this will allow women with mitochondria DNA mutations the opportunity for more reproductive choice.
"Mitochondria diseases can be devastating for families affected and this is a momentous day for patients who have tirelessly campaigned for this decision."
Three-person babies have been allowed only in cases where the risk of a child developing mitochondrial disease is very high.
How does it work?
Mitochondrial disease is caused by defective mitochondria - the tiny structures in nearly every cell that convert food into useable energy.
One in 4,300 children are born with such severe symptoms they develop muscle weakness, blindness, deafness, seizures, learning disabilities, diabetes, heart and liver failure. It is often fatal.
The aim of the procedure is to get the healthy mitochondria from the donor.
But mitochondria have their own DNA, which is why resulting children have DNA from three people.
However, everything that defines physical and personality traits still comes from parents.
However, the UK will not be the first country in the world to have children born through the three-person technique.
A Jordanian couple and doctors in New York performed the procedure in Mexico and the resulting baby is understood to be healthy.
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