Savior sibling

Rescue siblings or rescue Baby ( also referred to as design baby or designer baby, although these terms also include "wish children with special properties " ) are children who are artificially conceived and selected by the parents to help them with their matching genetic material of a sick sibling. These are embryos that were artificially created from the union of different genotype.

They are derived by in vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic diagnosis selected by the parents. Rescue siblings should therefore be cell donors for other terminally ill older siblings, for example, as a donor for bone marrow stem cells. From the umbilical cord blood of the rescue sibling stem cells can be obtained, which can be used for transplantation into the sick sibling shortly after birth.

History

Jamie

The first designer baby Europe, Jamie, was born according to reports by BBC online in 2003 in the UK. The umbilical cord of Jamie should the older cancer brother Charly help. Jamie has been genetically selected according to the parents as an embryo, so that they can help her four- year-old brother. The genetic studies have not been conducted in the UK, but in the U.S. because UK laws do not allow this procedure.

Javier

On 13 October 2008 Javier was born. He is the first " designer baby " of Spain and to heal his older brother. After in vitro fertilization, doctors at the Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Seville were selected using preimplantation genetic diagnosis to those embryo does not have the gene defect and genetically best suits Andres Jr.. With the cells from the umbilical cord blood of his little brother, he is now to get a bone marrow transplant. The chance of recovery see the doctors at 70 to 90 percent. If all goes well, Andrés is completely healthy in five years. From the term designer baby's parents want nothing to do, however. "We have always wanted a second child. "

British Embryos Act

The House of Commons of the United Kingdom has approved, after a months-long debate a controversial law that allows, among other things, to produce rescue siblings. 355 MPs voted in the vote on 22 October 2008 for the text, 129 deputies voted against.

Ethical Concerns

Rescue siblings are ethically controversial because they require a careful selection of a suitable fertilized egg. This also means that other fertilized ova are not selected and therefore does not have the chance to further life, because they did not come as a donor for the elderly, ill sibling in question.

Rescue siblings are sometimes attributed to the so-called designer babies. The term " designer baby " but also includes a targeted gene modification of embryos at the desired properties of the parents (for example, intelligence, athleticism ) are preferred. Such manipulation is not a requirement for salvation siblings and so far technically possible.