[dekhn]

Yes, these consequences are permanent. What He did was permanently modify the cells that make up a tiny embryo. The germline cells- those that go on to make sperm and eggs in the developing person- are thus permanently modified, causing those changes to be passed on to the children.

Note that the specific change he made was intended to make these subjects more robust to resisting HIV infection. HIV infection in China is extremely rare, so it's an odd choice to pick- most doctors would instead focus on a well-understood, testable condition that is caused by a mendelian gene change. And, He's change likely didn't really have the outcome he predicted (common problem with genetics- the mutation you make almost never has the phenotype you desire). So there was a lack of need for this risky work and it also wasn't the right work. And, those changes will be passed on to the children of the affected children.

Now, I need to point out if your attitude is that these are "test subjects", and that you are going to keep them from reproducing, I can assure you that politicians, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and parents are going to stop talking to you and you're not going to be able to make a career out of this. This is an area that is closely tied to people's strongest beliefs and a single misstep (He made multiple missteps) can ensure you never work in this field again. m Learnign to speak the jargon so that people think you're a well intentioned doctor, not Doctor Frankenstein, is absolutely critical to being able to work in this field.