Savior Siblings

The Sacrifice of Savior Siblings

A parent wants to do everything to ensure that their child has a safe and healthy life. Whether it is providing them with nutritious meals, or taking them to the doctor, these commonplace things attribute to a child’s health and wellbeing. With recent advances in technology, however, some parents are considering preimplantation genetic diagnosis and HLA tissue typing to care for their sick children. With PGD and HLA typing, parents have the ability to essentially design a child that will have a specific blood or tissue type to potentially allow them to donate to the sick older child. These children, who created to act as a sort of “built-in donor” for the sick child, are often labeled “savior siblings”. While

“Savior siblings” may suffer from psychological harm if they reason that they were created to help their sibling rather than their parents truly wanting another child. Rather than being treated as another human being, these children are often objectified and treated as medical projects (Madanamoothoo, 2011, pg. 299). This can lead to severe psychological damage as Madanamoothoo, an expert in medical law, continues by questioning whether either the “savior sibling” or parents will have feelings of guilt or failure if the treatment for which the child was created for was not a success. If a child was conceived to save the life of a sibling, yet the treatments fail and the sick sibling dies, it is very possible that the “savior sibling” will feel a survivor’s guilt of some sorts and perhaps view themselves as a disappointment to their parents, family, and their sick sibling. As with any medical procedure, there is a risk of failure, and the potential that a “savior sibling” may fail to treat the sick child can lead to stress and disappointment throughout the entire family, yet especially to the savior sibling themselves (Strong & Kerridge & Little, 2012, pg. 193). This is an enormous weight for a child to carry; as regardless of the success or failure of the treatment, it should not fall as their responsibility to save their sick older sibling. Another worry concerns the child’s view of their place within their family. If a child learns that they were not created because their parents wanted another child, but rather to be a treatment option for their sick sibling, they will feel as though they were not truly wanted, for themselves, in their family (Sheldon & Wilkinson, 2004, pg. 536). Even if the parents love their donor child as unconditionally as they do their sick one, and feel no disappointment, animosity, or resent if procedures