Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of tests on animals conducted in the UK using mitochondrial replacement techniques in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Experiments on animals have been performed over a number of years with the first successful pronuclear transfer (PNT) technique performed in mice in 1983 by McGrath and Solter. Maternal spindle transfer (MST) is a technique developed in the United States of America in 2009 and has been performed successfully in mice, non-human primates, as well as in sheep and cows. Research on both MST and PNT has been carried out successfully on human embryos. On-going studies of PNT and MST continue to be carried out on mice in the United Kingdom.

An extensive review of the safety and efficacy of MST and PNT to prevent mitochondrial disease was completed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s Expert Scientific Panel, which includes detailed consideration of animal model studies and can be found on their website:

www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/Third_Mitochondrial_replacement_scientific_review.pdf