Britain is set to become the first country in the world to legally offer “three-parent baby” fertility treatments after regulators gave the green light.
The technique, which uses DNA from two women and a man, would allow mothers who carry disease-causing mutations in their mitochondrial genes to give birth to children free of the illness.
British lawmakers had voted in February to allow the treatment, which uses in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), but clinics needed to obtain licences from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
HFEA chair Sally Cheshire hailed the “historic and important” decision to license the treatment, calling it “a world first”.
“I’m sure patients who might be in line for this treatment will be really pleased by what we’ve decided today,” she said, but added: “We will proceed with caution.”
HFEA member Andrew Greenfield said the board took the decision because the “evidence suggests we should move forward”.