[justinc8687]

This might be a silly question: I understand the mitochondria from the mother's egg is unusable due to disease. Why do they need a 3rd person to provide one? Is there a reason they could take one from a father's cell?

[jijijijij]

> Mitochondria in human sperm contain no or very little DNA because mtDNA is degraded while sperm cells are maturing, hence they typically do not contribute any genetic material to their offspring.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm

So the sperm’s mitochondria are degraded, and I guess, you don’t want somatic cell components for various reasons.

[Perenti]

I believe the simple answer (vs complicated truth) is that the donor cell, a fertilized egg, is in a state accepting a not-quite-formed nucleus. There are no male cells that can get into that state AFAIK, possibly excepting pluripotent stem cells that are somehow convinced to undergo ovogenesis.

The truth is of course much more complicated than my limited understanding.

[opello]

I assume it's because it would be hard to filter out the mitochondria from the egg and easier to swap the much larger nucleus.

[Sammi]

You only inherit the mitochondria from your mother. The sperm don't contribute mitochondria, they are all in the egg.