IVF To Create A Cure | Having A Baby To Save My Child

Comments · 559

• RO

  @rosierosiecheeks768 · 7 years ago (edited)

  I understand why they would want to do this but I can't help but feel for the sibling that is being created to also go through medical procedures that can sometimes really scar a child mentally

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• TR

  @trenicejohnson15 · 7 years ago

  It's just like the movie my sisters keeper.

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• KA

  @kayfse8373 · 11 months ago

  I wonder how many "spare parts" babies are emotionally blamed if the sick sibling ends up dying anyway

  7

• HE

  @heidiproctor5503 · 7 years ago

  Spare part babies really makes this sound horrible. I feel terribly for little ones born for this purpose. I feel its okay if its a one time thing, but over and over just doesn't seem right. I hope no matter what the baby is wanted and loved, and not just as  life support device.

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• NI

  @nicoleg7724 · 7 years ago

  I was born to save my brothers life. It didnt work i hated my life till years after my brother passed

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• KA

  @kaebae · 7 years ago

  What I dont get is after their first child passed, why they would even risk having another with the same issue... If IVF is an option to make sure you have a healthy child, why wouldnt they have done that in the first place?

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• ME

  @meganslonesings · 7 years ago

  I saw this and I thought exactly like "My Sister's Keeper"!

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• TO

  @torielrothschild7874 · 7 years ago

  My child has this exact disease (Fanconi anemia). When she was diagnosed, we considered the option of conceiving a matched sibling for her. In our case, our child was already in severe bone marrow failure at the time of diagnosis, so we did not have time to go through the IVF process and a pregnancy before she needed a transplant. She did not have a perfect match from the registry, either, but a very good partial match was found. I know a number of families who have chosen to pursue IVF with prenatal genetic diagnosis (PGD) to avoid future children having Fanconi anemia (FA) and to provide a match for their FA-affected child. It is obvious to me that these families love these children for themselves, not only because they may donate bone marrow to their siblings in the future. In all the cases I know of, they wanted to have more children simply to expand their families and to have another child to love, in addition to any medical considerations for their FA-affected children. They didn't want their future children to suffer with FA, and the only way to avoid another child with FA is through IVF with PGD. Once they were already doing IVF with PGD, going a step further to choose those embryos who are both unaffected by FA and HLA matches for their affected child was a fairly simple choice. In many cases, the so-called "donor children" born from IVF with PGD don't even need to donate their bone marrow, as they are often able to use the babies' cord blood painlessly collected at the time of birth as the source of the stem cells needed for their sibling's transplant.

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• SL

  @sleepypanda9157 · 7 years ago

  my sister has a genetic condition. I will get genetic testing before having a child. being knowledgeable about if you have a predisposition to pass on certain diseases or conditions is important.

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• IN

  @Investigativebean · 7 years ago (edited)

  What a terrifying situation to be in. It is an ethical conundrum, but who is anyone to judge. They will have to answer to the IVF child later on. Maybe they’ll feel good about it, or maybe they won’t. I can’t imagine what would happen if the sibling didn’t make it. How will that cause the parents to view the “savior” child? Seems like a slippery slope all around. Like look at how this adult father felt about the failed transplant. How ever could a child cope?

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• SH

  @ShiningSakura · 7 years ago

  My 2 Cents..... Regardless of ethical or humane debates, one thing still buggs me. What about the irreversible mental impact on the whole family? <br>That child will now forever know they were born to be used for another child to save their life.... that father and mother will have to answer to the hard questions that that child and other children will ask like,&quot; if that child was born to be used for spare parts, what does mommy or daddy think of me since I&apos;m not the child who received those spare parts.... do they see me as nothing but spare parts too?&quot; <br>or the child who was born for that reason....&quot;Did mommy or daddy ever want me, or will I ever only be a spare tire child to them?&quot; <br>or the child with the medical condition,&quot; mommy and daddy had my sibling to save me, but if something else major comes along, will they view me in a lesser capacity and use me as well down the road?&quot;<br>So many other hypothetical questions as well.... Children are so smart and easily confused, they pick up on more things than you think.<br><br><br>Another thing is the fact that you will have to answer to all of this one way or another..... I know I would personally never be OK knowing I choose to have another child to be spare parts for another (umbilical cord or not).... that child didn&apos;t choose that life and weather you like it or not they and others in the family will always wonder if you ever loved them completely to some degree. Its a fact.

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• SK

  @skypeters3034 · 6 years ago

  Imagine the stress of knowing you were born to be spare parts. Knowing you can’t stop your parents from taking parts of your own body without consent. Knowing your one purpose in life is to serve your brother and that was your purpose. I hope this kid is ok. There’s a reason there’s an episode like this on law and order. I hope this kid is loved and is allowed to live a normal life. I really pray

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