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Eight healthy babies have been born in the UK using a groundbreaking three-person IVF technique. This procedure prevents the inheritance of incurable mitochondrial diseases from the mother. The technique involves transferring the mother's nuclear DNA to a donor egg with healthy mitochondria. The births, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, mark a significant advance in preventing mitochondrial diseases, which can cause severe developmental issues and early death. While minor health issues were noted in a few babies, they were treated successfully, and all are currently meeting developmental milestones. The success rate was 36% for this technique versus 41% for pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT), a related method.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.