@dragonmom where do you see that they’ll only be half-siblings? I missed that.
I started reading My Sister’s Keeper to decide whether or not it should be part of a course on cancer that I’m helping design (and will be student teaching). I couldn’t even make it through the book it was so out of touch with reality. I remember it being extremely popular when I was in high school but I never read it during that craze. I’m glad I didn’t. (It’s not going to be assigned lol)
It sounds like either the baby will be a half-sibling using another mother’s eggs (to avoid the disease) or somehow eggs w/o the trait will be used…not sure.
Not sure why the family revealed that part of the story. Kind of personal.
I don’t see anywhere where it says that they will be using another woman’s eggs (again, I could just be missing it!) I’d guess that the IVF is to screen out the Hyper-IgM Syndrome positive fertilized eggs.
ETA: From the gofundme page:
Maybe I’m misreading that, but it sounds to me like they are screening themselves to make their own child a match. I can see how it could be interpreted to mean another egg who is a close match though. Either way, I wish them the best of luck.
The article linked in the OP says the condition affects males, and mom is a carrier, so all they need is an egg that does not have a copy of the bad gene. Plus, of course, they will have to get the blood type right for the transplant to work.
Here is a similar deal in Australia:
http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/ryven-harris/
Apparently, mom had the IVF baby in March!
I don’t think the fact that they are screening the eggs is any more personal and private than the rest of the situation. And I would assume that the genetic testing adds to the cost so it’s kind of relevant to the whole fundraising deal.
Screening the eggs isn’t that personal. I was thinking that it’s more personal if they’re opting to use another woman’s eggs. That might be info that some families wouldn’t want the world to know.
I wish them good luck as they try to save their child’s life.
It would kind of defeat the purpose if they used another woman’s eggs. They are looking for the BEST possible match. That would be an identical twin, and lacking that, a full sibling.
Re #44. I don’t think they can screen the eggs. For ~20 years IVF clinics have been doing pre implantation genetic testing (PGD) on embryos.
While I think trying to find a match is fine, the go fund me page doesn’t say anything about how much they are going to love this new child or how they are looking forward to him having a sibling. In other cases I’ve read about over the years the parents always say something like the new baby is wanted and will be loved regardless of whether its a match or not.
To many, the idea of having a child that isn’t wanted and loved is so foreign to them that it wouldn’t even cross their mind to put that in there. It would be like saying “I want to have a child with 2 legs!” just not something you’d routinely consider not a possibility.
Thank you BB. I didn’t realize there was a way to screen eggs,
I think the fact that they will love the child goes without saying.
@MichiganGeorgia Do you really suspect that this child will be brought into the world for its bone marrow and then be emotionally discarded once the procedure is complete?
Could any of US do that? I don’t think so. Love for new baby family members just comes…it just comes.
An identical twin would have the same genetic problem, so that wouldn’t work either.
The identical twin comment was a general remark re bone marrow donation and not specific to this child. Should have been more clear.
A full sibling would give the best chance for obtaining a match and avoiding severe graft vs host.
I agree that the parents may have felt it would go without saying that they would love their child.
@Hunt, I don’t know if cord blood donation is a possibility here, but that method poses no risk whatsoever to the donor.
Here are some pros and cons for the recipient:
http://www.nationalcordbloodprogram.org/qa/comparison.html
http://bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov/transplant/understanding_tx/transplant_faqs/index.html#1109 cb tx treatment