Do you think this could really happen in real life?

I saw a special on PBS once where a couple had to have nother child to make a bone marrow doner for another family member. The father even reversed his vasectamy to have another child. I guess that's not as contriversial as what you're talking about. If giving the organs to their daughter will kill the new child then I think it's wrong. Giving organs from a recently deceased person is one thing, but killing someone to get them is not right.

technically, thatd be murder considering the second child couldnt live without their organs, so the parents would go to jail for killing their newborn baby. and yeah, thatd be a bit wrong o.O however.. there have been real life cases where parents will have another child in order for things nonfatal like bone marrow for another child that needs a transplant or will die and a donor match cannot be found. not really sure where i stand on this issue though.. i know i would do ANYTHING to save the life of my child.. but i also wouldnt harm one of my children either for the benefit of another one. if i had a child that needed a blood transfusion and they were a rare type, and their sibling had the same type of blood.. yeah, id have their sibling be the donor.. it isnt going to hurt them to donate the blood. if my kid had lukemia, and needed a bone marrow donor. and their sibling was a match, yeah, id have them be the donor.. it wouldnt endanger their life and itd save the life of the other. and it IS common practice to test siblings because they have the best chacne of being a match. actually onceiving a child for the specific purpose of possibly creating a donor? i dunno... hopefully i will never ever have to be in the position to make that decision.

I think the stem cells of the new baby will be collected and be made use of to create and grow body parts. The new baby will not be affected in any way by this. Only the umbilical cord blood will be used which otherwise would be wasted. So there is nothing wrong i suppose. As the new baby does not lose anything but can help save a life. To avoid this, people should be made aware of stem cell research and they should be able to save their children's blood stem cells in advance. They should not think of doing this only when direly necessary.

This idea seems so sad, and wrong. The parents' concerns were understandable but to conceive a child for the purpose of helping an older sibling? What would that child feel? Parents should know that this kind of upbringing will definitely have an effect on the child - mentally and psychologically. Maybe I just don't understand these issues since I haven't come across anything like this in my life.

While it may be a fictional book, a similar thing did happen in real life. A family had a daughter dying of cancer. They chose to have another child, hoping they could use the new child's bone marrow to save the one who was dying. Luckily for all involved it worked! The young girl was saved, thanks to a planned pregnancy by her parents. Now if organs were to be "harvested" I don't think the medical field would cooperate. Nor do I think they should. Its one thing to donate something like blood or bone marrow, but another thing entirely to use organs that are needed to sustain life.

When responding to the thread, I thought how I would feel if I had only been brought into the world to "cater" for another child. Sure, that child would be my brother or sister, and their life would be important to me. However, a child is a child, and it brings a whole new take on what it means to be the flesh and blood of a parent. Since when did a child become a bag of resources? The subject makes it sound as if we are all just parts which we can mix or match as and when we like. I would not like the thought of being born for no other reason than to provide something and not because I was actually wanted. However, I don't disagree so much with using blood, tissue or organs from existing children providing you have their consent.

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if it started happening. People are having babies to use their' kidneys and bone marrow to save their' sick childs' life so if they took it further, it wouldn't surprise me. I think it's wrong and it's horrible for a child to be brought into the world for the sole purpose of being used for parts. What kind of life is that for the healthy child?

Yes, I have heard it happening in real life! Having a kid especially for the purpose of saving a sick one. People wonder about the ethics of it all, but I can understand it happening, especially if you love the one who is sick. I guess if that was the case, one would be willing to try anything and conceiving another child to be the saviour does not seem so far fetched.

I think I have watched a similar story at CSI...wherein the brother who is sick from cancer has been living thru his sister's regular bone marrow donation...eventually the brother felt pity for himself and his sister and he killed his sister to stop his parents from pursuing their daughter to donate bone marrow for his brother...

I think its not true. These writers have the capability to write in some a way that they confuse readers mind and that is their actual win. I think you should not involved your mind it this, otherwise such thoughts may dominate your your mind in negative manner. Just get the moral of the story and try to realize that in your life. Thats what I do.

uwaaa! i know this book! i read it! and it was my favorite book by the way, it from jodi piccoult right? anyway, whoever parents do this to their daughter/sons is so cruel! This is so wrong! i guess, because its inhumane to treat the daughter as a bone marrow bank! not only did they sinned to the younger daughter but to the eldest as well, they just brought her something that even her (elder daughter) conscience could not take!

It does happen in real life. I've heard of cases where children are conceived to donate bone marrow and tissue to ill siblings. This topic in particular caused a great deal of controversy and led to the question of stem cell research - did you know heart tissue was successfully created by scientists for this exact purpose? I'm not sure exactly what I think of it. It gives me the creeps. I think the idea of creating life for no other purpose than to help another is somewhat immoral. I think that it should be a decision that is taken a lot more seriously. At the end of the day, the child should not be a "donor" but another part of your family. Would you ever feel the same love for a donor child as the love you give to a sick child? On the other hand, I understand that parents would do anything in their power to help a suffering child, even if that was taking drastic measures. I do think however that the same research is going to prove extremely useful to many children, and adults alike, who are suffering from illnesses where no other solution is available. If we are able to do this, what's next? We can only get closer and closer to finding cures, or preventive measures, for illnesses where none currently exist. There are arguments to support both cases.

It is possible but the ethics of the situation are really tacky. It required a more insightful look into the situation. Nontheless, some cases have occured in the past.

Well I heard My Sister's Keeper was based on real events. And yes, this type of thing DOES happen, granted the additional child is for more reasons than that. Time for another child, NOT replacing the child. Maybe initially it wasn't intended as a "donor child", just happened to turn out that way. When parents are struck with something tragic, they end up doing drastic things, and not think of the full consequences, until it's too late. I can't imagine BEING the second child for that though, I can fully understand if they feel like they're being used, and not actually appreciated nor loved, but LIVING that way....ouch.