Mark Simmonds (Shadow Minister, Health; Boston & Skegness, Conservative)

Clause 3 deals with prohibitions in connection with embryos. Amendment No. 1 relates to the transfer of some serious and life-threatening diseases through the mitochondrial part of the cell—the outside part, surrounding the nucleus—which can be translated through generations. I am supportive of mitochondrial research, which could make a significant contribution to eradicating—certainly reducing the incidence of—some serious diseases that are passed on through the generations. The amendment would place a reference to mitochondrial transplant in the Bill, rather than in a regulation-making power. Such a serious area of medical research clearly  throws up, as other parts of the Bill do, important moral and ethical issues, which Parliament needs to debate thoroughly.

You may or may not be aware, Mr. Gale, that there are no mitochondria in sperm. Scientists are working to remove the nucleus of a cell of a woman with a mitochondrial disease, place the cytoplasm of a healthy woman’s egg in there, and then fertilise it. Once normal mitochondria are established, future generations will also have normal mitochondria. The controversial part of this is that the resulting child will have 99.5 per cent. of the mother’s genetic material, 100 per cent. of the father’s genetic material and clearly 0.5 per cent. from a third party, although the DNA in the mitochondria—this is the part that I think is very significant—carries no information that defines any human attributes.

Indeed, Professor Turnbull at Newcastle university has carried out under licence a process whereby an ovum from a woman with a mitochondrial disease has been fertilised by her partner’s sperm. As soon as the first cell is formed, it contains two pronuclei, one from the woman and one from the partner, containing 100 per cent. of his DNA and 99.95 per cent. of hers. However, at the moment, the licence from the HFEA does not allow this embryo to be implanted in the woman. I think that this needs to be changed in the actual Bill rather than through regulation-making powers.

Amendment No. 2 removes the regulation-making power, which would be superfluous if the reference was included in the Bill.

Amendment No. 33 is a consequential amendment that, if mitochondria donation is permitted under amendment No. 1, ensures that consent is received from a person whose mitochondria are used in treatment. Mitochondria are tiny parts of the gamete, so it is important that the Bill refers not just to whole gametes but also to parts of gametes, and it is absolutely important that consent remains a fundamental cornerstone of the Bill and this particular part of the Bill.

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