Saviour siblings

Abstract

The creation of saviour siblings to provide umbilical cord blood or bone marrow to save a sick sibling is fraught with moral dangers. This paper discusses the physical and psychological risks involved to saviour siblings and argues that each child ought to be welcomed for its own sake, rather than for the sake of being used as a means to save another.

The argument centres around recent case histories in the United Kingdom and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s (HFEA) decision on July 21st 2004 to allow embryos created by IVF to be tested in order to help families to have a child who can serve as a tissue match for a seriously ill sibling. It is argued that The HFEA has not provided sufficient evidence to show that pre-implantation diagnosis itself is free of risks to the child’s longterm health; nor has it substantiated its claim that the creation of saviour siblings may benefit whole families.

The paper also points out that the renowned British fertility expert, Professor Lord Winston, has come out strongly against the creation of saviour siblings. Pointing to an unsavoury scenario, he asked what would happen if the umbilical cord blood of the saviour sibling failed to repair the sick sibling? Would the saviour sibling then have to donate bone marrow? And suggesting and even grimmer situation, he asked what might happen if the kidney of the sick sibling failed? His comments clearly show that a child who is not created for its own sake risks being abused and treated as a supply of spare parts.