CON: Using Savior Siblings to cure their terminally ill brothers or sisters.
Have you ever questioned the purpose as to why you were born? Were you selected out of a group of embryos because you were a perfect genetic match for an ill sibling? You probably never even fathomed those thoughts; you expect that your parents wanted a bigger family and more children to love. Many children are now stuck questioning the purpose as to why they were brought on to this green Earth. These children are known as savior siblings, "a child who is created to provide an organ or cell transplant to a sibling that is affected with a fatal disease, such as cancer or Fanconi anemia, that can best be treated by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation" (Liu, 2007). Savior siblings are selected if they are a genetic match and implanted through IVF, which can be dangerous. These children think about the fact that if their sibling wasn’t sick, they probably wouldn’t be here. There are over 2,000 children in the United States alone that have leukemia (Hu) and there are 2,000 plus reported cases of Fanconi anemia (Lipton, 2011). These diseases are virtually incurable yet, over 4,000 savior siblings on the planet (Washington , 2004). That doesn’t exactly mean that every sick child has a savior sibling, but it does mean that a lot of children are left feeling helpless. Once they try to do something like play a sport, they are constantly being ripped away from it to give donations to their sick brother or sister. That robs the healthy kids of their childhood. The mother is putting herself at risk by going through IVF. She puts herself at a higher risk for a miscarriage and “Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, (OHSS), is a condition in which the ovaries produce many follicles and fluid may leak from the blood vessels into the abdominal cavity and lungs. In severe cases, OHSS can result in very enlarged ovaries, dehydration, fatigue and the collection of large amounts of fluid in the abdomen and lungs” (AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE, 2012). Savior siblings are a form of designer babies. Creating and being able to pick which child you would like to conceive give technology too much power. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Willingly putting your own flesh and blood through a life like that is immoral and there isn't even a benefit to the ill child, when they are sick with a terminal illness they are not going to be cured, no matter what the treatment is.
A Tragic Story of Savior Siblings:Henry was born very sick, and his parents tried everything in their power to save him, until they turned to IVF and tried to create their own savior sibling for their son. This website describes their journey:
"On October 25, 1995, Henry Strongin Goldberg was born. Two weeks later, he was diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, a disease that threatened to take his life, and challenged us to live well despite it. Henry embraced each opportunity for living completely and reminded the rest of us to do so. His sparkly eyes, mischievous grin and infectious smile were a call to action to smile back, laugh along and dance with him. His ear-to-ear smile and joyous laughter were far more noticeable than his many surgical scars and low-platelet related bruises. On his side were parents willing to go to extraordinary lengths and doctors offering a new, controversial form of hope called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). It didn’t work. Despite nine tries, Strongin and her husband, Allen Goldberg, never had a child through PGD." Click the button to read the whole story: |
This song describes savior siblings because it describes all of life's problems and how they can be a lot for one person to handle. "I wish I was strong enough to lift not one, but both of us", this describes the pressure that can be put on these children to try to cure the ill brother or sister.
BibliographyAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE.
(2012). Risks of in vitro fertilization (ivf). Retrieved from http://www.asrm.org/uploadedFiles/ASRM_Content/Resources/Patient_Resources/ Fact_Sheets_and_Info_Booklets/risksofivf.pdf Hu, W. H. (n.d.). Leukemia. Retrieved from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/leukemia/article_em.htm Lipton, J. L. (2011, July 26). Fanconi anemia. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/960401-overview Liu,C. L. (2007). Journal of bioethical inquiry: ‘saviour siblings’? the distinction between pgd with hla tissue typing and preimplantation hla tissue typing. (Vol. 4, pp. 65-70). Washington , R. W. (2004, May 04). Genetic testing of embryos to pick 'savior sibling' ok with most americans. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/7899.php |