Mitochondria NPR

Altering an egg cell in order to create a healthy baby is a very controversial issue. Physically separating an unhealthy egg and transferring the DNA to a healthy donor seems like a positive thought. On one hand, it seems very helpful for an unhealthy mother, but there may be many underlying problems. The ethical issues, along with possible legal ramifications, evolutionary impacts and regulation pose possible concerns. For example, who should have the authority to make such a decision in the first place? If this is allowed, what will the future hold with this type of technology and ability? Since a donor egg is involved, how would legal custody be determined over the child that is born? Will a child produced from this have problems later in their life? There are many questions that are brought up when this issue is discussed, and they need to be addressed. The first issue is that the baby would be born with genes from three different people, which could cause custody issues between the woman who was the donor egg and the woman who carried the baby to term. The child may deal with identity problems later in life, wondering who they are, possibly feeling like an outcast. New genetic diseases could be introduced into the human population and passed down through generations and it could lead to people trying to create “designer babies”. While this is a good idea, in retrospect, our technology may not be able to handle the possible consequences that will come along with the outcome. I think in the future, things like this could be successful, but there needs to be more research done before someone goes through with the experiment. The questions and issues previously brought up need to have more concrete answers, because at this point, everything still seems shaky and unsure.