Five findings from STAT’s investigation into the international “three-parent IVF” industry
A STAT investigation examined the growing international market for mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT), sometimes called “three-parent IVF.” The procedure creates embryos carrying the genes of a mother and father alongside a small amount of mitochondrial DNA from a donor. It is illegal in the United States and permitted at only one academic medical center in the United Kingdom, where it is restricted to reducing the risk of inherited mitochondrial disease.
International Fertility Group (IFG), a U.S.-based company, has marketed MRT abroad as a possible treatment for women with advanced maternal age or repeated failed IVF cycles. STAT found no peer-reviewed human evidence that the technique overcomes age-related infertility. A 2023 Greek pilot study reported its strongest results among younger patients; among 12 patients aged 39, fewer than 10% achieved a live birth. A 2025 conference abstract linked to IFG claimed live birth rates of 40% or more among 66 patients with an average age of 39, but scientists said it omitted important supporting information.
Evidence from Ukraine points in the same direction. At least three Kyiv clinics offered MRT before Russia’s full-scale invasion. At Nadiya Clinic, only one of 19 patients aged 36 to 44 gave birth after pronuclear transfer, compared with nine of 10 infertile patients under 35. Despite the limited evidence, IFG promoted the procedure to older women, helping create a fertility-tourism industry that sends clients to clinics such as an upscale center in Albania, where a Turkish embryologist based in Slovakia performed MRT during monthly visits.
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