In Vitro Fertilisation

(asked on 8th January 2015) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the experiment on mitochondrial DNA carry-over on non-human primate model into the possible heteroplasmy of tissues in the foetus, recommended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's expert panel in its publication Scientific review of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease through assisted conception, published April 2011, has been concluded; and in which peer-reviewed journal he plans to publish the results of that experiment.


Answered by
 Portrait
Jane Ellison
This question was answered on 13th January 2015

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that some relevant experiments have been carried out in the macaque a summary of which can be found at paragraph 2.3.4 of the 2013 report of the Expert Panel convened by the HFEA. The report can be found on the HFEA’s website at:

http://www.hfea.gov.uk/6896.html

The results were published in Cell Reports in 2012.

The use of non-human primate experiments was deemed by the Panel, in its 2013 and 2014 reports, to no longer be necessary.

The Department does not routinely publish scientific research conducted independently by others.

Reticulating Splines