Download or read book Clinical Introduction of Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy in Canada written by Forough Noohi and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy (MRT) is a new type of in vitro fertilization (IVF) that aims to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial diseases, transferred through the maternal line, by replacing mutated mitochondrial DNA with normal mitochondria from a healthy egg donor. As a result of MRT, permanent changes are made to the germline that could be passed on to future generations; thus, this so-called "three-parent IVF" is considered a form of germline genetic modification. Apart from the United Kingdom, the first country to approve MRT in 2015, only a few other countries have considered this controversial technique through public policy. In Canada, the 2004 Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA) prohibits any practice that introduces heritable changes into the germline. As such, MRT is prohibited in both research and clinical contexts. Certain clinics in jurisdictions with less strict or non-existent regulation of health technologies are moving forward with clinical uses of MRT (i.e., Ukraine and Greece). To date, seventeen babies have been born through the use of MRT worldwide. As the progress of reproductive technologies continues to push the ethical and legal boundaries, the need for an updated AHRA that can keep up with the current and future technological advancements resonates more powerfully than ever. Considering the mounting concerns about reproductive tourism and the alternative uses of MRT, it is important to address the key issues in the MRT policy discussions and expand on the underlying ethical, legal, and policy issues surrounding MRT's clinical translation. The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the body of evidence available to Canadian policymakers on the clinical implementation of MRT and assess the relevance of the AHRA's prohibition of this technology. I aimed to (1) identify and expand on key socio-ethical and policy issues in the MRT discussion; (2) explore various stakeholders and the public's attitudes toward the clinical translation of MRT in Canada; and (3) provide policymakers with evidence-based data and key MRT policy principles suited to the Canadian healthcare context. I conducted a review of the relevant academic sources which characterized the socio-ethical issues and scientific advancements of MRT. Next, I developed semi-structured interviews designed to assess the attitudes of Canadian stakeholders, including scientists, clinicians, patients, and egg donors, as well as the general public concerning MRT. Lastly, through the review of MRT's policy literature in combination with the results of my qualitative analysis, I proposed evidence-based policy points to consider in the clinical introduction of MRT in Canada"--