Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Savior Siblings


Is it ethical for one life to be created for the purpose of saving another?  Here is a link to an article about the morality behind the concept of savior siblings.  Using PGD, an embryo is genetically designed to be compatible to the sibling in need of a donation, creating a baby that can be used for blood transfusions, organ donation, or cell transplantation. This embryonic modification is usually a much faster and reliable process to find a predestined match for the recipient as opposed to waiting for donations from another suitable candidate.  This organ or cell transplant is mostly used for a child afflicted with a fatal disease, most commonly Fanconi anemia or cancer.  The use of savior siblings is a highly controversial one, especially for means of morality concerning the savior child, as dealt with for the donors of Never Let Me Go.  Much of this controversy stems from the lack of legal protection that the savior sibling has, thus not limiting the extent to which these babies can be used in attempt to save the other child. While this extent may mean donation of minor organs for savior babies, it is the donor's life in the context of the novel. Another concern is the psychological health of the child subject to donation, since it can be mentally damaging to be aware that one's own existence is to preserve another.  Because savior babies are minors, their legal guardians must give consent, whose judgement can be interfered by emotions.  It also complicates the right to bodily autonomy, which states that a person has a say over how their body is used.  Even a dead body still has this right, therefore, their organs can't be removed without legal consent from the human before their death.  This offers the question: does a dead body have more legal rights than a living baby (as in the case of a savior children)?  This can also be applied to Never Let Me Go regarding the rights of donors.  They, in similar, are genetic creations who were made in order to provide the need of an organ donation of an arguably prioritized human.  While this fate is much more normalized in the eyes of the clones, it doesn't take away the sensitivity around being wanted for much more than physical contributions in life.  The end of the article touches upon how these babies are viewed, whether this be as real people or harvestable parts.  The same can be asked about donors in setting of the novel, in which Ishiguro allows readers to question humanity of these organizations, and if life has any less meaning to the characters because of their predetermined circumstances. Is who we are influenced by our perception of our individual purpose in life? To contend with the larger perspective of the psychology behind savior siblings, are we as humans a product of how we live, or why we believe we are living?

3 comments:

  1. This is a really interesting connection. Your comments and the article remind me quite a bit of the novel My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, in which a 13 year old girl sues her parents after learning that they had her only to save her sister who is dying from leukemia.

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  2. I really love the connections made in this article, but also how thought provoking the last questions are. It is interesting to think how the human mind works in its attempts to do something beneficial for humanity; however, in creating lives that are only used to save other lives, are we being humane at all? Depending on the point of view these ideas can be seen as helpful and genius, but also treacherous as if we are playing God.

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  3. I totally agree with Emma Kate. I actually find this topic fascinating and I loved the book My Sister's Keeper. This issue is so sensitive because while some view it as helpful and necessary, others think it is cruel and harmful. In My Sister's Keeper, the parents of the family were so desperate to help one child that they didn't consider the repercussions for the child they conceived to help her. It's such an interesting topic to think about, especially when applied to real life situations. Also, as a side note, I strongly recommend all of Jodi Picoult's books -- I read at least 7 of them this summer and they are amazing!

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