The UK has become the first country in the world to legalise the creation of IVF babies using DNA from three people.
The first baby conceived after mitochondrial donation techniques may be born as early as next year after peers in the House of Lords voted against a move to block a planned law change by 280 votes to 48 (majority 232).
It could potentially help almost 2,500 women of reproductive age in the UK who are at risk of transmitting harmful DNA mutations in the mitochondria.
But opponents, including church leaders and pro-life groups, have warned that the change has been brought about too hastily and marked the start of a "slippery slope" towards designer babies and eugenics.
Peers rejected an attempt to delay the legislation by Lord Deben, former cabinet minister John Gummer, before voting overwhelmingly in favour of the change to the law after several hours of debate.
The move to amend the 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which forbids IVF treatments that affect inherited "germline" DNA in eggs and sperm, was carried by 382 votes to 128 in the Commons earlier this month.
Three separate expert reviews for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) found that the procedures are ready to go forward.
Alastair Kent, director of the Genetic Alliance UK charity, which helps people with inherited conditions, said the vote was a "triumph that gives hope to families who otherwise would have to face the prospect of not being able to conceive a child free from a life-limiting disease."
The Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, said the Church of England was not opposed in principle to mitochondrial transfer, but added: "But at the same time we have always counselled a degree of caution given the potential implications of this development."
The vote was backed by the three main party leaders.
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