Baby was Selected from 15 Embryos to Help Sibling

CHICAGO, Oct. 3, 2000 (ZENIT.org). - A 6-year-old with a deadly genetic
blood disorder has received a transplant from a newborn brother who was
selected for the task through reproductive and genetic technology, the
Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

At least 14 human embryos were likely destroyed in the process, which made
be a medical first.

The Chicago-area parents, Jack and Lisa Nash, used in vitro fertilization
and genetic screening to give birth to baby Adam, in August as a blood
match for his sister, Molly, the newspaper said.

The stem cells in his cord blood were used for his sister's bone marrow
transplant last week, his doctors announced Monday, the newspaper reported.

Adam, in embryonic form, was selected from a group of 15 embryos for his
blood type, which is compatible with his sister's, the Inquirer said. Molly
had suffered from a genetic disorder -- Fanconi's anemia -- that causes
acute leukemia, the newspaper said.

The case marks the first time that an embryo diagnosis before implantation
had been used to save the life of a sibling, said Charles Strom, director
of medical genetics at Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Strom performed the
genetic screening.

The use and deliberate destruction of human embryos is condemned by the Church.

In its 1987 document "Donum Vitae" (The Gift of Life), the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith said: "Medical research must refrain from
operations on live embryos, unless there is a moral certainty of not
causing harm to the life or integrity of the unborn child and the mother."
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