April 28, 2005

scientists repond to ‘saviour siblings’ court ruling

Today the House of Lords ruled that couple Raj and Shahana Hashmi could make use of modern ’tissue typing’ techniques to create a child with a similar tissue type to their son Zain, thus providing a potential new way to treat the thalassemia which he suffers from.

Shahana Hashmi, mother of Zain Hashmi, said:

“It’s nice to know that society has now embraced the technology to cure the sick and take away the pain. It has been a long and hard battle for all the family and we have finally heard the news we wanted to hear. We feel this ruling marks a new era and we are happy to move forwards now. We hope and pray that we get what we need for Zain. He has been our inspiration throughout all of this. We haven’t got the words to say how much we have appreciated everyone’s support through this time, because thank you doesn’t seem enough.”

Dr Simon Fishel, Managing Director, CARE Fertility Group, and the Hashmi’s fertility doctor, said:

“I trust that a line has now been drawn in our society whereby individual families, with guidance from their medical practioners, can make their own choices without extraordinarily long and compromising legal battles. Now it is time to move on. I would like to pay tribute to the Hashmi family who were prepared to fight through their pain.”

Alison Murdoch, Chair of the British Fertility Society, said:

“For any parents to go through what the Hashmi’s have been through to help their sick child proves that they are wonderful parents. Therefore the state should back out of this and leave these decisions to the people best able to make them – the families and their doctors. The British Fertility Society agrees with many of the MPs on the recent select committee on reproductive technologies who argue that unless there is evidence of harm to the child or society, decisions about reproduction should be left with families.”

Professor John Harris, Sir David Alliance Professor of Bioethics, University of Manchester, said:

“There is no better reason for having a child than to save the life of another individual. Saviour siblings are therefore not only ethical but also a wonderful, generous and humane decision for parents to make both for the saviour sibling and for the child who will benefit.”

Alistair Kent, Director of the Genetic Interest Group, said:

“The use of our knowledge of genetics to enable couples not only to avoid the birth of a child affected by a severe life-threatening disease but also to improve the health of an existing child affected by the same condition is humane and rational and should be encouraged. The decision by the Lords to endorse this is welcome and will give hope to families caught in this dreadful dilemma.”

Laura Riley, Director of Progress Educational Trust, the UK charity for information and debate on issues in assisted reproduction and genetics, said:

“The House of Lords’ decision allowing parents to use genetic technology to have a ‘saviour sibling’ should be applauded. Families facing this critical situation will now have another treatment option, without having to cope with the additional strain of the lengthy legal battle endured by the Hashmis.

“Unfortunately for the Hashmis themselves, their attempts to have a healthy child who could also help save the life of their son Zain have been severely hampered by pro-life group CORE’s efforts, over the last two and a half years, to deny the legitimacy of this procedure. Today’s ruling proves that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which has had Parliament’s authority to make these decisions since 1991, was right to license the Hashmi’s treatment in February 2002.”