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  • Essay / Discussion of whether it is ethical for parents to create savior siblings

    Savior siblings are children created to provide body parts compatible with human leukocyte antigen (HLA ) in order to save the life of an older brother or sister. This is usually umbilical cord blood intended for the older child's bone marrow transplant. These children are created through IVF so that the embryos can be examined to find and implant one that is an identical match to the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the sick sibling. Some diseases, such as certain leukemias and anemias, require a bone marrow transplant as part of treatment. However, bone marrow donation requires an immunologically compatible donor with the recipient. Generally, the most common match is a family member, usually a sibling, as there is a one in four chance that everyone's genes will match due to inheriting the same HLA from their parents. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe first recorded savior brother was born in the United States in 2000. Parents Lisa and Jack Nash created their son Jack Nash to curing his sister Molly's very rare type of Fanconi anemia, a rare genetic disorder resulting in an impaired response to DNA damage. Although it is a very rare disease, studies of this disease have greatly improved scientists' knowledge of other bone marrow functions and the development of cancer. Although Jack's birth had beneficial consequences both for the family and for the advancement of medical knowledge, his birth raises thorny moral questions. The first successful sibling rescue in the UK was in 2003, for Megan Mathews, a nine-year-old girl from Norfolk. . Megan also suffered from Fanconi anemia, meaning her body couldn't produce blood, causing her to experience transitions every two weeks and she was unable to fight off infections. Megan's parents always planned to have another child, but natural conception only had a one in four chance that the genes would match Megan's genes identically. Can it ever be morally right for parents to have a child if the sole reason for that child's existence is to save a sibling? or my sister who is dying? Is the donor child truly wanted for its own sake or is it just a means to an end? How will the donor child feel once he is old enough to understand why he was born? Some parents want to play a role in determining whether it is ethically correct to create savior siblings. If the parents did not plan on having another child and they have another to save the first, then this is ethically incorrect and there is fear of using the savior sibling as a means to end. Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom essay now from our expert writers.Get a Custom EssayThe brothers and sisters of the Savior are mainly due to despair. The parents desperately want their first born to stay alive, as any parent would, it's a decision that was made instantly without any thought because they want it so much. Even with a low 5% success rate, parents, as an act of desperation, may act as relief from partial future guilt because they went to the lengths to say they have it all try. The desperation required to create a savior sibling is a morally wrong thing to do.., 48(2), 201-218.