HOW THEY CREATED A THREE-PERSON BABY

The technique could be used for anything – from avoiding disease to altering a baby’s appearance. For now, disease is the focus. 

The world’s first ‘three-parent’ baby was created to prevent him inheriting a genetic condition his mother carries in her mitochondria. 

The disease – Leigh’s syndrome – would have killed him within a few years.

HOW IS THE PROCEDURE DONE? 

1. Take eggs from a mother with damaged mitochondria
2. Take eggs from a donor with healthy mitochondria
3. Remove and save the nucleus from the mother’s egg. This contains the majority of her genetic material
4. Remove and discard the donor’s nucleus
5. Place the mother’s nucleus in the donor’s egg with the healthy mitochondria
6. The egg can then be fertilized by the father’s sperm