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A group of 34 European politicians, including eight British MPs and peers, has signed a declaration attacking plans which will make the UK the first country in the world to permit the new IVF technique.
Under legislation being drawn up by ministers the treatment will be offered to a handful of parents at high risk of having children with conditions such as muscular dystrophy, as early as next year.
The therapy can dramatically reduce the risk of children inheriting disorders of the heart, brain and muscle which are caused by faults in the mother's mitochondria, structures which supply power to cells.
But it has proved controversial because it involves substituting a small fraction of the mother's damaged DNA with that of a healthy female donor.
Because the swap takes place at the "germ line", the third party's DNA would not only be passed on to the child, but also to any future generations down the female line.
The therapy was recommended to government by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority earlier this year after a public consultation revealed general support....