So far, ten such embryos have been created, though they have not been allowed to develop for more than five days.
Chinnery hoped that after further experiments in the next few years the process might be available to parents undergoing in-vitro fertilization.
"If successful, this research could give families who might otherwise have a bleak future a chance to avoid some very grave diseases," said Francoise Shenfield, a fertility expert with the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. Shenfield was not connected to the Newcastle University research.
Approval
Similar experiments have been conducted in animals in Japan and has already led to the birth of healthy mice who had their mitochondria genes corrected.
Shenfield said that further tests to assess the safety and efficacy of the process were necessary before it could be offered as a potential treatment.
A bill to allow the procedure to be regulated as a therapy for couples—if it is proven to work—is expected to be discussed in Britain's House of Commons in March.
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