Episode 19 - Mitochondrial Transfer ..... a Reality

Numerous studies have demonstrated that mitochondria can be transferred from stem cells to pathologically injured cells, leading to mitochondrial functional restoration. Mitochondrial transplantation has lower immunogenicity, making exogenous transplantation of healthy mitochondria a promising therapeutic approach for treating diseases, such as genetic disorders, metabolic disorders and many more. Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques (MRTs) have been used in clinical practice to prevent the genetic transmission of maternally inherited mitochondrial diseases. However these techniques can also be applied to treat infertility especially for advanced reproductive aged women with impaired oocyte quality in those who do not accept the choice of egg donation.
This ED Talk will be moderated by Prof Duru Shah in conversation with Dr Meenakshi Choudhary to discuss the various clinical, legal and ethical issues associated with MRTs.