The Ethical Dilemmas surrounding ‘Savior Siblings’
In 2002, Jayson and Michelle Whitaker, the parents of Charlie Whitaker, their then four year old son, faced a decision that would test the bounds of both modern medicine and the ethical limitations which govern it. When he was twelve weeks old, Charlie had been diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA), a rare blood disease which prevents the body from creating sufficient red blood cells; requiring frequent treatments which prove painful and exhaustive for both the recipient and in this case the helpless, on-looking parents.
To stay alive, Charlie received recurring blood transfusions and almost nightly drug infusions. Distraught with their son’s ailment, traumatizing treatment and the
In 2002, Jayson and Michelle Whitaker, the parents of Charlie Whitaker, their then four year old son, faced a decision that would test the bounds of both modern medicine and the ethical limitations which govern it. When he was twelve weeks old, Charlie had been diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA), a rare blood disease which prevents the body from creating sufficient red blood cells; requiring frequent treatments which prove painful and exhaustive for both the recipient and in this case the helpless, on-looking parents.
To stay alive, Charlie received recurring blood transfusions and almost nightly drug infusions. Distraught with their son’s ailment, traumatizing treatment and the