Britain on Monday granted its first research licence to genetically modify human embryos to a project that aims to give hope to women struggling to conceive, raising ethical concerns about "designer babies". The decision makes Britain one of the first countries in the world to grant this type of authorisation on one of science's new frontiers and follows months of deliberation by the British embryology regulator.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said it had approved an application from Dr Kathy Niakan of the Francis Crick Institute for a new laboratory research licence "to include gene editing of embryos". Researchers explained that the embryos used will be spare ones donated by women receiving In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment who do not need them.
Any modified embryos have to be destroyed within 14 days and cannot be implanted in a woman. The research will examine embryos in their first few days. "Dr Niakan's proposed research is important for understanding how a healthy human embryo develops and will enhance our understanding of IVF success rates," said Paul Nurse, director of the Crick Institute.
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