Ethical considerations, safety precautions and parenthood in legalising mitochondrial donation

This article outlines some of the main ethical considerations specifically relating to legalisation of mitochondrial donation. Safety requirements, were the technique to be legalised, are then discussed, followed by an exploration of parenthood in the context of mitochondrial donation. It is concluded that there are no ethical objections specifically relating to the legalisation of mitochondrial donation, but that various safety precautions must be established prior to its use, including the availability of relevant medical information about the mitochondrial donors to any resultant children. It is also found that introduction of this technique would not necessitate modifications to current British legal definitions of parenthood. However, it is clear that societal attitudes in this area are changing, and it is recommended that this opportunity be taken to review concepts of parenthood, particularly the number of parents a child may have at one time.