Overview

• Researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine that all eight infants conceived via mitochondrial donation are healthy, with five showing no detectable mutant mitochondria and three carrying trace mutations well below disease thresholds.
• Of 22 women treated at Newcastle, seven pregnancies resulted in eight births, reflecting a 36% success rate under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s licensed framework.
• The pronuclear transfer procedure replaces maternal mitochondria with healthy donor organelles to prevent fatal inherited disorders that affect about one in 5,000 UK births.
• A formal long-term follow-up protocol will monitor the children’s growth and health milestones into early childhood to detect any late-onset issues.
• Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council and US regulators continue to review broader clinical approval, with decisions expected later this year.