Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role played by mitochondria in the development of an organism; and what they consider to be the implications of that assessment for mitochondrial replacement techniques.

As the noble Lord is aware, the Government commissioned the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to convene an Expert Panel to review the science related to mitochondrial donation and the proposed donation techniques. The Panel produced reports on this in April 2011, March 2013 and June 2014. A description of the role of mitochondria can be found at paragraph 2.1 of the Expert Panel’s April 2011 scientific report. This can be found on the HFEA’s website at:

www.hfea.gov.uk/6372.html

The latest assessment of mitochondrial replacement techniques, carried out earlier this year by the Expert Panel, can be found at:

www.hfea.gov.uk/8807.html