We must seize the opportunity to set families free of mitochondrial disease

It is every parent's nightmare to lose a son or daughter, whatever age they may be; particularly when it is to an illness or disease for which there is no treatment or cure.

I lost my son Jason in April 2011 to a mitochondrial disease. It all began 12 months prior, when he was admitted to hospital following an epileptic seizure, brought on, it was thought, by a stroke which affected his speech, movement and thought processing.

Some weeks later he was diagnosed with 'Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes', MELAS for short - one of many mitochondrial conditions. The 'stroke-like episode' he suffered was the result of lactic acid build-up.

The news was a bombshell to us all,  but Jason and his fiancée were devastated and had many tearful moments, wondering if they had a future and how they would cope.

Jason worked extremely hard over the next six months and he was well enough to return to work. Sadly, a few weeks later, he suffered another mild attack, which caused him to cease work again. As it turned out, he didn't return.

In January 2011, Jason had another massive attack and was readmitted to hospital with a total loss of sight. Over the next three months he deteriorated further, due to his brain being under constant attack from the effects of excess lactic acid, until his death.

His suffering during this period was horrendous, with stages of hallucinations and total confusion. It was unbearable to watch, especially as we struggled to understand what he was suffering and what we could do to help him. Even now I keep replaying these events in my mind. Could I have done more? It is a hopeless situation and the guilt stays with you. He is a permanent fixture in my thoughts.

Jason was an intelligent and successful person: a science graduate, a senior manager in his work, with a great passion for travel, and he was engaged to be married. It was incredible how much he packed into his short life, for he was only 40 years old. Did he know something?

Jason's mother died in 1998 from a 'stroke' - it's now obvious that she also died from MELAS. She suffered for eight long years. At the end she could not walk, talk, swallow or hear. This is how cruel and
hideous mitochondrial disease is.

Jason and his mother were among the unlucky (one-per-6,500) people who have severe mitochondrial damage. This ratio means that mitochondrial disease is described as rare. So in an average UK town with a population of 330,000 this equates to 50 severe cases. But as many as one in 200 people are affected to a lesser degree. This equates to 1,600 people in a typical town - not rare at all, then.

Prevention is better than cure and less costly in the long run. I strongly support development and adoption of mitochondrial donation as it gives affected families their only hope of stopping these hideous diseases permanently.

Ethically, I think it's the right thing to do. I have great difficulty understanding those who are opposed to the technique. Of course they are entitled to their beliefs and can choose not to adopt this technology for their own families. But they must not prevent others benefitting from this fantastic breakthrough when there is no viable treatment alternative.

I can only assume that some of those who object to mitochondrial donation are simply misunderstanding the technical aspects; there have been references to 'cloning', 'designer babies' and 'three-parent babies' in the media - references which are inaccurate, misleading or unhelpful. Others may be blindly following their own religious doctrine.

There is always a risk of complications with any new technique, but the risk seems small compared to what will happen should we refuse the technology. I am sure most affected families will accept the risk of the new as one worth taking. The alternative is like living on death row, waiting for the inevitable. We must be brave and lead the world; future generations are depending on us!