Members of Parliament have begun debating whether to allow the creation of babies using DNA from three people.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he would vote in favour of the technique which is aimed at preventing deadly genetic diseases.
The UK could become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies from three people.
The issue has sparked fierce ethical debate and senior Church figures have called for the procedure to be blocked.
However, if there is a "yes" vote in the Commons, then the first three-person baby could be born as soon as next year. It could eventually help about 150 couples a year.
The technique, which was developed in Newcastle, should help women like Sharon Bernardi, from Sunderland, who lost all seven of her children to mitochondrial disease.
Mitochondria are the tiny compartments inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into usable energy. They have their own DNA which does not affect characteristics such as appearance.
Defective mitochondria, which are passed down only from the mother, lead to brain damage, muscle wasting, heart failure and blindness.
The technique uses a modified version of IVF to combine the DNA of the two parents with the healthy mitochondria of a donor woman.
It results in babies with 0.1% of their DNA from the second woman and is a permanent change that would be passed down through the generations.
Method one: Embryo repair
1) Two eggs are fertilised with sperm, creating an embryo from the intended parents and another from the donors 2) The pronuclei, which contain genetic information, are removed from both embryos but only the parents' are kept 3) A healthy embryo is created by adding the parents' pronuclei to the donor embryo, which is finally implanted into the womb
Method two: Egg repair
1) Eggs from a mother with damaged mitochondria and a donor with healthy mitochondria are collected 2) The majority of the genetic material is removed from both eggs 3) The mother's genetic material is inserted into the donor egg, which can be fertilised by sperm. The government backs the measure in principle.
However, MPs (members of parliament) will be given a free vote, as it is an issue of conscience, rather than being forced down party lines.
Mr Cameron said: "I think it has be thoroughly researched and tested and as someone who had a severely disabled child myself, I know what parents go through when they are concerned about these issues.
"So science can help in this way, all the arguments are in favour, we should make sure these treatments are available."
Prof Doug Turnbull, the director of the Wellcome Trust centre for mitochondrial research where the technique was pioneered, urged MPs to vote in favour.
He told the BBC News website: "This is research that has been suggested by the patients, supported by patients and is for the patients, and that's an important message."
That message was backed up by calls from British Nobel Prize-winning scientists and 40 leading scientists from 14 countries.
But not everyone agrees.
What will happen?
There will be a 90-minute debate in the House of Commons, expected after 14:00 GMT
This will be followed by the vote. The House of Lords will also have to vote, although those close to the issue believe the Commons' vote will be the crucial one
If the procedure is given the go-ahead, the UK fertility regulator will be able to license fertility clinics
line.
Last week the Catholic and Anglican Churches in England said the idea was not safe or ethical, not least because it involved the destruction of embryos.
Other groups, including Human Genetics Alert, say the move would open the door to further genetic modification of children in the future - so-called designer babies, genetically modified for beauty, intelligence or to be free of disease.
David King, from the campaign group, said: "Once you cross the ethical line, it is very hard not to take the next step of designer babies.
"All our experience says we are pushed down slopes by thousands of people who are paid to make sure we go that way."
Dr Gillian Lockwood, a reproductive ethicist, told the BBC it was a "small change" in the legislation.
"The biggest problem is that this has been described as three-parent IVF. In fact it is 2.001-parent IVF," she said.
"Less than a tenth of one per cent of the genome is actually going to be affected. It is not part of what makes us genetically who we are.
"It doesn't affect height, eye colour, intelligence, musicality. It simply allows the batteries to work properly."
Safety concerns
A review by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, as well as a public consultation by the fertility regulator, argued the creation of three-person babies was ethical.
Three scientific reviews by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) suggest the technique is "not unsafe".
Yet some scientists argue those reviews were flawed.
Dr Ted Morrow, from the University of Sussex, believes there are still uncertainties.
"I have some concerns about the safety, I'm really not happy that the reviews have been as exemplary as other people think they are."
Prof Lisa Jardine, former chair of the HFEA, said the safety issue was a "red herring".
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Rachel Kean has a family history of mitochondrial disease and says the technique could be hugely beneficial
"All of those issues have been investigated," she said. "The scientific committees have said there is no evidence this procedure is unsafe but like all good scientists, they say it will require careful progress."
Bishop of Swindon Dr Lee Rayfield said this procedure was a "massive step" and some of his colleagues were concerned about how it was going to be regulated once approved.
"If the safeguards are there, the Church of England will be behind this," he added.
Rachel Kean, whose aunt died from mitochondrial disease, told BBC Breakfast that a yes vote would "prevent some of the cruellest and most devastating diseases, not just for the next generation but generations after".
She said there had been an "unprecedented" amount of scrutiny into the regulation and a lot of misinformation about "designer babies".
If politicians vote it through, then the HFEA is expected to give Newcastle a licence to carry out the procedure.
The first attempt could take place this year, which could lead to the first birth in 2016.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he would vote in favour of the technique which is aimed at preventing deadly genetic diseases.
The UK could become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies from three people.
The issue has sparked fierce ethical debate and senior Church figures have called for the procedure to be blocked.
However, if there is a "yes" vote in the Commons, then the first three-person baby could be born as soon as next year. It could eventually help about 150 couples a year.
The technique, which was developed in Newcastle, should help women like Sharon Bernardi, from Sunderland, who lost all seven of her children to mitochondrial disease.
Mitochondria are the tiny compartments inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into usable energy. They have their own DNA which does not affect characteristics such as appearance.
Defective mitochondria, which are passed down only from the mother, lead to brain damage, muscle wasting, heart failure and blindness.
The technique uses a modified version of IVF to combine the DNA of the two parents with the healthy mitochondria of a donor woman.
It results in babies with 0.1% of their DNA from the second woman and is a permanent change that would be passed down through the generations.
Method one: Embryo repair
1) Two eggs are fertilised with sperm, creating an embryo from the intended parents and another from the donors 2) The pronuclei, which contain genetic information, are removed from both embryos but only the parents' are kept 3) A healthy embryo is created by adding the parents' pronuclei to the donor embryo, which is finally implanted into the womb
Method two: Egg repair
1) Eggs from a mother with damaged mitochondria and a donor with healthy mitochondria are collected 2) The majority of the genetic material is removed from both eggs 3) The mother's genetic material is inserted into the donor egg, which can be fertilised by sperm. The government backs the measure in principle.
However, MPs (members of parliament) will be given a free vote, as it is an issue of conscience, rather than being forced down party lines.
Mr Cameron said: "I think it has be thoroughly researched and tested and as someone who had a severely disabled child myself, I know what parents go through when they are concerned about these issues.
"So science can help in this way, all the arguments are in favour, we should make sure these treatments are available."
Prof Doug Turnbull, the director of the Wellcome Trust centre for mitochondrial research where the technique was pioneered, urged MPs to vote in favour.
He told the BBC News website: "This is research that has been suggested by the patients, supported by patients and is for the patients, and that's an important message."
That message was backed up by calls from British Nobel Prize-winning scientists and 40 leading scientists from 14 countries.
But not everyone agrees.
What will happen?
There will be a 90-minute debate in the House of Commons, expected after 14:00 GMT
This will be followed by the vote. The House of Lords will also have to vote, although those close to the issue believe the Commons' vote will be the crucial one
If the procedure is given the go-ahead, the UK fertility regulator will be able to license fertility clinics
line.
Last week the Catholic and Anglican Churches in England said the idea was not safe or ethical, not least because it involved the destruction of embryos.
Other groups, including Human Genetics Alert, say the move would open the door to further genetic modification of children in the future - so-called designer babies, genetically modified for beauty, intelligence or to be free of disease.
David King, from the campaign group, said: "Once you cross the ethical line, it is very hard not to take the next step of designer babies.
"All our experience says we are pushed down slopes by thousands of people who are paid to make sure we go that way."
Dr Gillian Lockwood, a reproductive ethicist, told the BBC it was a "small change" in the legislation.
"The biggest problem is that this has been described as three-parent IVF. In fact it is 2.001-parent IVF," she said.
"Less than a tenth of one per cent of the genome is actually going to be affected. It is not part of what makes us genetically who we are.
"It doesn't affect height, eye colour, intelligence, musicality. It simply allows the batteries to work properly."
Safety concerns
A review by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, as well as a public consultation by the fertility regulator, argued the creation of three-person babies was ethical.
Three scientific reviews by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) suggest the technique is "not unsafe".
Yet some scientists argue those reviews were flawed.
Dr Ted Morrow, from the University of Sussex, believes there are still uncertainties.
"I have some concerns about the safety, I'm really not happy that the reviews have been as exemplary as other people think they are."
Prof Lisa Jardine, former chair of the HFEA, said the safety issue was a "red herring".
Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Rachel Kean has a family history of mitochondrial disease and says the technique could be hugely beneficial
"All of those issues have been investigated," she said. "The scientific committees have said there is no evidence this procedure is unsafe but like all good scientists, they say it will require careful progress."
Bishop of Swindon Dr Lee Rayfield said this procedure was a "massive step" and some of his colleagues were concerned about how it was going to be regulated once approved.
"If the safeguards are there, the Church of England will be behind this," he added.
Rachel Kean, whose aunt died from mitochondrial disease, told BBC Breakfast that a yes vote would "prevent some of the cruellest and most devastating diseases, not just for the next generation but generations after".
She said there had been an "unprecedented" amount of scrutiny into the regulation and a lot of misinformation about "designer babies".
If politicians vote it through, then the HFEA is expected to give Newcastle a licence to carry out the procedure.
The first attempt could take place this year, which could lead to the first birth in 2016.
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