Brent Corrigan The Pro And Con

"Most children are the result of drunken nights and lack of contraception. Are accidents ..."

Anne Fitzgerald on "My Sister's Keeper"

We certainly face an uneven film. From the medical point of view, it stores a particular value leads us to think about the ethical dilemma posed by called "designer babies" . However, from a cinematic perspective, it might be a film too predictable, flat despite its beautiful photography, for more to exploit our most vulgar sentimentality and we pardon or pardons the interpretive work of their female protagonists.

"My Sister's Keeper" ( Nick Cassavetes, 2009) is based on the book "My Sister's Keeper" (Jodi Picoult , 2004). Participated jointly in the script Jeremy Leven and Cassavetes himself to tell the story of a peculiar family conflict, which arises when Anne Fitzgerald ( Abigail Breslin) refuses to donate a kidney, her older sister Kate ( Sofia Vassilieva), suffering from leukemia . The girls have another brother, Jessie (Evan Ellingson ) who suffers from dyslexia , and will have a crucial role in the outcome of the movie ...

The plot thickens when little of 11 years (13 in the original novel by Picoult) decides to put in the hands of able and successful lawyer Campbell Alexander ( Alec Baldwin) a lawsuit trying to get medical emancipation from her parents, a legal battle typically made in USA .

When the marriage of Sara ( Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric ) Kate discover that their daughter suffered a severe case of promyelocytic leukemia decide having another child with special genetic characteristics that enable the compatibility of HLA between two brothers. Thus, the small Anne becomes the largest donor of blood and marrow needed to save the life of Kate.

An intimate picture of Kate and Anne Fitzgerald

Recall that acute promyelocytic leukemia was identified in 1957 by Leif K. Hillestad in the journal Acta Medica Scandinavica. His description was completed in 1958 and since 1970, it was discovered the genetic cause of the disease in 1990 to 1991 it was possible to clone the two genes involved in pathological translocation (reciprocal between the long arms of chromosomes 15 and 17).


enfemredad This represents between 5 and 10% of all cases of myeloid leukemia, although its percentage is increased in the Mediterranean countries (15%) and Latin America (30%).


80% of patients have a severe haemorrhagic syndrome . In the film, the mother discovered incidentally a bruising on the back of his daughter Kate. Returning to our discussion , almost from the moment of birth of Anne's life becomes a satellite of her sick sister.

It is already a thread to ensure that the reality often is stranger than fiction. But in this case is not so surprising to find stories that seem too real to our protagonist.


For example, the October 21, 2004, the BBC echoed on the little information Charlie Whitaker, 6 years old, born with a Congenital hypoplastic anemia ( syndrome Blackfan-Diamond ), a rare disease characterized by an inability to form the precursor stem cells erythrocytes. These patients need a bone marrow transplant from a compatible donor , a fact which unfortunately was not present in the parents of Charlie and his only sister, Emily .


The chances of a new natural means compatible with the small child sick were 20%. But with invaluable help of embryonic genetic selection the percentage increased to 98%. Thus was conceived in the laboratory Jamie Whitaker, destined to save the life of his brother. The cells from the umbilical cord allowed the resolution of Charlie.


Despite the success, this case also failed to steer clear of controversy. While the family of Charlie and hematologist who was showing his full satisfaction, critics felt that it is unethical to create a child to an end, and not consider the baby as an end in itself.

Like the fictional Anne Fitzgerald, 18 May 2005 in Belgium announced the birth of the first two children conceived in the laboratory from selected embryos with the intention that in this way could help their sick siblings. Each of these treatments cost just over $ 7000, repaid largely by Belgian public health.


The February 25, 2009, Keith Kleiner published in an interesting Singularity Hub article entitled "Babies by design: we like it or not, here are" , which we reported on the creation of babies by embryo selection to prevent not only diseases but also for other more "mundane" as the color hair or eyes, or even physique.

http://singularityhub.com/

This possibility was advanced in 1997 by Lee M. Silver in its highly recommended essay "Return to Eden. Beyond cloning into a happy world ".

The controversy over the selection" cosmetic "embryo immediately broke. It could be that in the U.S. were born and children with physical features selected by pre-implantation genetic Diagnostics d . This was stated by Dr. Jeff Steinberg, director of The Fertility Institutes of The Angeles. This type of pregnancies have opposed frontally from Mark Hughes, director of Genesis Genetics Institute up Pamela Madsen, founder of the American Fertility Association .


On October 15, 2010, the Reuters news agency informing the world of the happy birth of a completely healthy babies from embryos in the laboratory which they had ruled out any tare or genetic defect prior to implantation in the womb.


The innovative technique that allowed this medical milestone is called comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) microarray by . It seems that in the 30 years since development in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos were transferred some carriers of various genetic defects and chromosomal abnormalities. Perhaps this is because only 1 out of 3 IVF embryos developed culminating in a successful pregnancy.


This pilot study conducted in Bohn (Germany ) and Bologna (Italy ) is expected to become an international clinical trial from this year 2011. We'll see what happens with all this ...




THE PROCESS.


At this point, perhaps some readers may wonder: How could earn Alexander Campbell Anne Fitzgerald's suit against his parents?

Anne Fitzgerald and his lawyer Campbell Alexander

We start with some facts. In 1974, he was in the U.S. the National Commission for the Protection of Human Beings as Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. The agency proposed three basic ethical principles on research carried out with human beings:

1. Respect the person: individuals are autonomous, and no one can touch or invade your privacy without their prior consent. This principle applies also to respect people with diminished autonomy, such as the mentally handicapped.
2. Charity: considered in two main aspects, ie not do any harm, maximizing benefits and minimizing the damage.
3. Justice, requires special protection to the weak, vulnerable and underprivileged.

Sensu stricto, no one experimented with Anne, but was subjected to countless tests and interventions bloody did not respect its principle of autonomy, since they were made to benefit his sick sister, even with laudable intention of trying to cure her of her excruciating illness.

There is a fact of capital interest. The Commission considered that a child with normal cognitive development, as the case of Anne, has the ability to consistently nod from 7 years of age. The mere fact that do not object can not be regarded as assent. Of course there are exceptions, as parents and legal guardians can ignore the objection of a small child to specific interventions and procedures that represent a benefit to the child in question himself.

However, all invasive tests and interventions to which Anne was submitted to obtain blood and bone marrow needed to treat his sister Kate she was not supposed to benefit, except perhaps an excess of moral satisfaction to help a neighbor in this case, his own blood.


THE HEALING POWER OF LOVE ...


While Kate is hospitalized Taylor Ambrose knows ( Thomas Dekker), a handsome boy hit by a myeloid leukemia (assuming that it is a sharp variation of the disease ) and who comes to receive outpatient chemotherapy .

As occurred between Gloria ( Maite Jáuregui ) and Dani ( Gorka Moreno ) in "Planta 4 ª" ( Antonio Mercer , 2003 ), the relationship between adolescent patients serves to make them forget for a moment about the disease and its sequelae. For Kate, The shame and the complex caused by alopecia no longer an issue when you decide to wear a wig lush and encouraged to attend a dance in the company of Taylor. Unfortunately, the clinical course of the disease the boy is negative, and the outcome fatal.


Despite the aggressive calls induction therapy and consolidation , only 20 to 30% of patients achieved disease-free living for a long time. If a relapse , the treatment of choice is a bone marrow transplant.

And as a gift to all who were able to get here, let this little wonder belonging to the soundtrack of the film, the inimitable voice of Jimmy Scott singing "Heaven" ... A luxury.