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A Ukrainian doctor is creating genetically modified “three-parent” babies in an effort to give infertile women a chance to bear children who share their genes.
The practice is banned in the U.S. and many other countries and, according to a report by National Public Radio, has not been available to the public until recently.
Dr. Valery Zukin, director of the Nadiya Clinic in Kiev, claims to have genetically altered embryos for four women who have given birth — and for several more who are pregnant.
The patients so far include women from Sweden, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Israel. The Nadiya Clinic plans to partner with a clinic in New York to market three-parent babies to eligible women from the United States, who can travel to the Ukraine and pay $15,000 for the procedure, according to the NPR report.
But just because they can doesn’t mean they should, say critics.
“It’s irresponsible,” Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, tells PEOPLE. “There are a lot of concerns that haven’t been resolved by preclinical or animal work...