He Jiankui, former associate professor of Southern University of Science and Technology, who was sentenced to three years in prison for the "Edit Baby" incident, revealed that the three gene editing children are currently living with their parents happily.
According to the Nanhua Morning Post, He Jiankui said in an interview that "they live a normal, calm, and unrecombished life. This is their wish and we should respect them."He said that he did not want to see that children were too disturbed by scientific research, and said, "the happiness of children and their families should be first."
When asked if he was worried about the future of the children, he said that he felt like every father's expectations and worry about the future of the child. "You will have high expectations for them, butYou will also have huge uneasiness. "
He Jiankui announced in November 2018 that a pair of twin baby girl named Lulu and Nana was born in China that month.After modification, they can naturally resist the diseased virus HIV of love after birth.This is the world's first gene editor baby, the news shocks the world, and has triggered discussion of ethical and ethical and scientific research.
For He Jiankui's team claiming that gene editing babies can naturally resist the diseased virus HIV, according to a report from MIT science and technology in December 2019, some scientific researchers said that their data does not support themSaid.
Reporting pointed out that the team did not actually copy known mutations.Instead, they have created new mutations, which may lead to resistance to the virus of love, but may not.
He Jiankui said that as a part of the consent of knowledge, his team has the obligation to track the health of children for their family. "After the age of 18, the children will decide whether to follow the medical follow -up according to their needs.We promise to do this for their lives. "
He and his team have promised to buy additional health insurance for children outside of public health insurance.However, because the birth of these babies is known, no insurance company is willing to participate.
He Jiankui now wants to set up a charity foundation to raise funds as an alternative to pay the health cost of three children.
The first instance of the Nanshan District People's Court of Shenzhen was pronounced publicly in December 2019.Three defendants including He Jiankui, Zhang Renli, Qin Jinzhou, and other defendants were edited and reproductive medical activities for human embryonic genes that were illegally implemented for reproductive.Among them, He Jiankui was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 3 million yuan (RMB, the same below, about S $ 600,000).
He Jiankui, who had been released in April last year, said in an interview: "I did it too fast," he added that in the past four years, he learned a lot and changed a lot.
He Jiankui was invited to visit Oxford University next month to give a speech on the application of CRISPR gene editing technology in reproductive medicine.
At the same time, he also established a new laboratory in Beijing, committed to genetic therapy affected by rare genetic diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.He also plans to register a non -profit research institution called "Beijing Rare Disease Research Institute". "I have a long -term vision, that is, each of us should stay away from genetic diseases."
