Spanish baby engineered to save brother
Categories: Babies, Kids 5-7, Pregnancy & birth, Medical conditions
It had to be devastating -- to learn that their son had a deadly genetic disease destined to cut his life short after just a decade. But then science reared its helpful head and offered a solution. Andres, suffering from a rare hereditary disease called Beta Thalassaemia major, could have a brother who was not only free of the genetic malady, but could save Andres' life.
And so, Javier was born, free of the disease, and an immunological match for his brother -- meaning he could donate bone marrow to his brother and quite possibly cure Andres' condition. Andres' body does not produce enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells but his brother's umbilical cord blood will be used in a bone marrow transplant. Doctors say that "the possibility of healing the boy after the transplant is very high."
The parents used in vitro fertilization to conceive Javier and, prior to implantation, were able to verify that the embryo was genetically healthy. After he was born, doctors determined that Javier was indeed the ideal donor for his brother. I'd say that's one boy that better be nice to his kid brother!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
ninainindia 10-16-2008 @ 12:00AM
I think this is wrong, science is going too far nowadays.
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JHZ 10-16-2008 @ 9:09AM
Any parents that would go to these lengths to save the life of one child, will undoubtedly love and treasure this new child as well. When faced with the possibility of losing their precious son, they didn't give up...now, they will have a lifetime to share this love with both of their children...I pray all goes well for them.
bbmom19 10-17-2008 @ 7:06AM
Read My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Everyone has an opinion 10-17-2008 @ 9:35AM
I believe that if science wasn't meant to help with such tragedies then there wouldn't be such a thing. If people find that this is wrong, then I have one question for them: Then is it wrong for science to find a cure for cancer?
Paula 10-17-2008 @ 10:29AM
Science can't go far enough to save lives an find a cure for diseases
like cancer and if a cure or treatment can be found thru stem cell research then let it be so.
kimmybean7 10-17-2008 @ 10:56AM
There's science to be done =)
D-Nice 10-17-2008 @ 11:04AM
Why is it wrong? Okay, so with your decision, your child would die. But with the smart decision, you have another child, which is absolutely a blessing, you help your first child live AND you have a happy family. The 2nd child not only saved the brother, but saved the parents from devastation. Give me a break, it's obvious to a smart person what the right decision is here. Have a 2nd child. End of Story.
nikpooh76 10-17-2008 @ 12:05PM
WOW! So if the baby had not been a "genetic match" what would have happened? I agree, this is totally wrong and unfair to the second child.
rachel 10-17-2008 @ 2:55PM
You know if you knew anything about the since of trying to save lives then maybe just maybe you may understand then. go to Anatomny and Physiocaily class with lab then say that stuff. Sciencetists are trying everyday to come up with ways to help save lives. It is people like you that piss us nurses and doctors off. Go to school and learn why instead of judging someone for doing there job.
ninainindia 10-17-2008 @ 9:01PM
I don't need to go to school to learn what I think goes to far, it's ethics and everyone has a different level that they think goes too far.
This second child is produced for the sole purpose of saving his brother, doesn't anything in that sounds wrong to you? He would not be here if he wasn't the perfect match. Just that the word perfect is in there is scary. It's creating a path to people chosing what child they want with which traits, what gender and what colour hair. I just don't agree with that. The next stap would be cloning....someone's son dies from a car accident and they can just create the exact same child again, maybe even with some improvements.
That doesn't mean I don't want to find a cure for cancer but I do believe there are limits and we should find that cure within ethical limits.
2Joys 10-16-2008 @ 9:45AM
It reminds me of the book My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult where the parents were torn between their sick daughter and their healthy daughter. The healthy daughter was conceived in order to save the sick daughter's life.
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Laurie 10-17-2008 @ 7:04AM
I can't help but wonder whether they had earlier pregnancies that were not genetically right for the transplant. If so, did they terminate those pregnancies?
maureen coath 10-17-2008 @ 6:30AM
The fact that the umbilical cord blood will be used is a miracle in and of itself. There will be no invasive surgery for the "engineered" baby. The only "engineering" that took place here was the unconventional method used for conceiving the new baby - invitro fertilization. Abuses abound with this type of engineering. I wonder if it had been learned that the new baby was a carrier of the same disease would the doctors recommended destruction of this new life? It happens all the time. But because the new baby was "perfect" and would likely be able to help his brother, albeit in a very non-invasive way (umbilical cords are tossed away at birth all the time and yet there is so much life-saving potential in the blood of this cord) would the new baby have been a victim of abortion. When I first read the article I was very happy for the parents and for their son with this disease and still am. But I worry about the abuses that can occur. Would I do the same for my child? As long as I would keep in mind to "do no harm" and would be willing to acccept a "new" baby conceived in an effort to save the life of his/her sibling if it is discovered this new baby can't help his/her sick sibling. It's a risk I would have to be willing to accept. Yes, parents would do anything to save the life of their children, like when a mother has the strength to "lift a car off her child to save the child" but I would have to keep in mind that, again, I can "do no harm" in my efforts to save another's life. Difficult yes I am sure but otherwise no one would be safe in this world if this motto is not foremost in our attempts to find cures to diseases. Just my opinion.
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Audrey 10-17-2008 @ 7:33AM
you guys are not getting the point. He was just concieved by invitro. People do it all the time. I think he will know how special he is. It will only be people like you that will make him feel like hes an outcast and what his family did was wrong, so think about that.
maureen coath 10-17-2008 @ 6:55PM
Hi Audrey,
My cousins were conceived by IVF and the word "outcast" was one word that I nor anyone in our family would ever, ever consider. They are miracles. I'm not sure how you extracted the word "outcast" from my reply regarding the article about the baby conceived by IVF for his umbilical cord blood to help to save his brother's life. My main concern lies in the fact that through IVF procedures parents can say yes or no to continuing their son's or daughter's life if it is determined that the child has "bad" genes etc. Unfortunately I went off in a different direction from what the main subject was of the article. I truly hope and pray for the best for these parents and their children.
Cletus 10-17-2008 @ 6:40AM
If anybody thinks this is wrong , I think you should not go to the doctor for anything. If anything is right in this screwed up world, this is it.
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kerry wenrich 10-17-2008 @ 1:54PM
celtus you hit the nail on the head as long as someone is a perfect match to save someones life it's never wrong
Jess 10-17-2008 @ 7:01AM
Wow, this is just like my favorite book: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Yeah... That book didn't end so well...
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MAGIUS931 10-17-2008 @ 7:15AM
SO WILL THE E-KID GROW UP KNOWNING HE WAS PLANNED FOR A REASON, CREATED......I MEAN THERES A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLANNED PARENTHOOD, AND UNPLANNED ONES..I THINK HIS PSYCHE WILL TAKE A HIT...THE OTHER HAD A DECADE AND THERES NO TECHNOLOGY TO GO ANOTHER WAY...I THINK THERE IS...BUT ASK WILL THE SICK SUFFER?...I THINK BECAUSE ITS HAPPENED. ITS THE EXCEPTION TO SOCIETIES RULE, BUT THERE IS MORE TO COVER IF THIS IS TO BE MAINSTREAMED
Seasong 10-17-2008 @ 7:04AM
This is not engineering. The title made it sound like the child was genetically altered...the way the title run in these articles lately, they never tell the truth...it gets old after a while.
Anyway, what a miracle that the child is the same genetic makeup and is disease free. That is a blessing from God, not a scientific intervention. Both children will be loved and adored - and hopefully the older one will be healed. To act like the child is wanted only for this reason just doesn't sound right. The family is obviously loving and devoted to their children - and will be to the new little miracle as well. This is an uplifting story which has been turned into something ugly. Like one comment said: "If anything is right in this screwed up world, this is one of them." Best wishes to the family and may they have a lifetime of love to share with all of their children!
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