Babies born through mitochondrial DNA transfer, a process which uses donor DNA to fix genetic flaws in an embryo and effectively gives a child three genetic parents, will not be allowed to find out the identity of their “second mother” under UK government guidelines.

According to the Daily Telegraph, under the new guidelines children would never know the idenity of the DNA donor and would only able to find out “non-identifiable” information at the age of 16.

After a three-month public consultation process, in which over 60% of responses were opposed to the initiative, Ministers yesterday began the process of changing the law to allow for mitochondrial DNA transfer. The controversial technique enables parents at high risk of having children with severe disabilities to use donor DNA to correct for genetic flaws. If approved by parliament the first babies born through the technique could be born in 2016.

Campaign groups said the practice was unethical and warned that it could make it difficult for children to develop a healthy sense of identity and throw up contentious legal dilemmas, should DNA donors want to contact youngsters in the future.

Dr David King, director of Human Genetics Alert added: “The decision not to let children find out about their mitochondrial donor mother is part of the strategy of the techniques’ proponents to minimise the significance of the mitochondrial DNA.

“Like much of the rest of the scientific claims about these techniques, statements that mitochondrial DNA does not affect the child’s characteristics or identity, that mitochondria are ‘just batteries’ etc, are nonsense.

Human rights groups also said allowing the technique would breach European law which states that the human genome cannot be altered if the changes would be passed on to future generations.

“Looking back, 15 years from now in the midst of a eugenic designer baby marketplace, people will see this as the moment when the crucial ethical line was crossed.” said Dr King.

“Britain will now be isolated in Europe as the only country permitting human genetic manipulation – all the other countries have signed the Convention on Biomedicine and Human Rights, which forbids this.”

But other academics and politcians welcomed the move. Professor Doug Turnbull, from Newcastle University, who leads the team which developed the technique, said: “We would welcome a firm timetable for this to be tabled for debate in Parliament and become a legal treatment. We have patients waiting who could greatly benefit from this new IVF technique.”

Jane Ellison, Public Health Minister said: “Mitochondrial donation will give women who carry severe mitochondrial disease the opportunity to have children without passing on devastating genetic disorders. It will also keep the UK at the forefront of scientific development in this area.”