J Med Ethics. 2018 Dec;44(12):817-822. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2017-104400. Epub 2017 Oct 25.
Children created through mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs) are commonly presented as possessing 50% of their mother's nuclear DNA, 50% of their father's nuclear DNA and the mitochondrial DNA of an egg donor. This lab-engineered genetic composition has prompted two questions: Do children who are the product of an MRT procedure have three parents? And, do MRT egg donors have parental responsibilities for the children created? In this paper, I address the second question and in doing so I also address the first one. First, I present a brief account of mitochondrial diseases and MRTs. Second, I examine how MRTs affect the numerical identity of eggs and zygotes. Third, I investigate two genetic accounts of parenthood and MRT egg donation. Fourth, I explore three causal accounts of parenthood and MRT egg donation. My conclusion is that, under the appropriate circumstances, MRT egg donors are parentally responsible for the children created under genetic accounts of parenthood and under causal accounts of parenthood.
通过线粒体替代技术（MRT）创造的儿童通常被认为拥有其母亲的核 DNA 的 50%、父亲的核 DNA 的 50%和卵子供体的线粒体 DNA。这种实验室设计的遗传组成引发了两个问题：通过 MRT 程序产生的孩子是否有三个父母？并且，MRT 卵子供体是否对所创造的孩子负有父母责任？在本文中，我将解决第二个问题，同时也解决第一个问题。首先，我简要介绍了线粒体疾病和 MRT。其次，我研究了 MRT 如何影响卵子和受精卵的数量身份。第三，我调查了父母身份的两种遗传解释和 MRT 卵子捐赠。第四，我探讨了父母身份的三个因果解释和 MRT 卵子捐赠。我的结论是，在适当的情况下，根据父母身份的遗传解释和因果解释，MRT 卵子供体对所创造的孩子负有父母责任。
