UK approves laws to allow three-parent babies

The House of Lords has given the final go-ahead to groundbreaking laws that make the UK the first country in the world to legalise the creation of three-parent babies.

This modified version of IVF therapy will be passed into law after the upper house rejected an attempt to block the legislation by a majority of 232. A similarly robust majority had approved the law in the House of Commons earlier this month.

Developed by researchers in Newcastle, the technique makes it possible to combine the DNA of two parents with a mitochondria of a donor woman, thus preventing the spread of genetic diseases caused by defects in the mother's mitochondria.

The regulations will come into force from October 29th, placing the onus on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to develop a licensing framework through which applications can be considered from clinicians wanting to offer the treatment.

Sally Cheshire, chair of the HFEA, said: "It is a testament to the scientific expertise and well-respected regulatory regime that exists across the UK that parliament has felt able to approve it."