Ireland's top geneticist warns on ‘3-parent’ technique

The country’s top geneticist has said the breakthrough ‘three-parent’ technique used by doctors to ensure a baby was born free from the genetic condition that killed his siblings could potentially help a small number of couples in Ireland.

However, Andrew Green, director of the National Centre for Medical Genetics, warned that the procedure, carried out in Mexico, was still new, untested, and unregulated.

He also said there was unlikely to be enough demand for doctors here to gain sufficient expertise in it, so couples may have to travel abroad to avail of it.