My Sister's Keeper

Last night, My Sister's Keeper was on TV (Lifetime, of course, but we'll forget about that part). I thought that was perfect, since Matt was studying and I have always wanted to see the movie, ever since I read the book by the same name. Good thing I knew what I was in for or I would have been crying without warning.

For those of you who don't know the story line, it is about 17 year old Kate battling leukemia, the AML version, which I believe is the hardest to cure. She got it when she was around 5, so her parents decided to have a "designer baby," basically the embryo was selected by it's blood type. So Anna was born for the soul purpose of donated all kinds of blood and cells to her sister, in the hopes that "this time" the surgery/procedure will work.

If that already isn't enough of a ethical issue, the book follows Anna's decision, at age 11, to "not do it anymore." This time around, she is being "asked" to donate a kidney to Kate, and she doesn't want to. After you lose a kidney, you can't participate in many sports anymore, or have a good quality of life. So young Anna saves up $700 and goes to a lawyer to sue her parents and get medically emancipated from them. All while her older sister is dying.

I mean, this is a heart jerker, right?

I have a unique perspective on this book/movie, since I have experienced the cancer of a sibling. Granted, I was not a designer baby, and my brother's battle was relatively short compared to Kate's, but still. There are so many ethical issues I have with this story. I know this is totally a fiction book, but I still want to explain my opinions on these issues.

First off, I'm kind of against designer babies. Actually, I'm completely against them. Having a baby invitro because of fertility, etc, is one thing (which I still don't necessarily support, but at least it's ethical). But to select an embryo based on its sex or blood type? Um, hello, I don't think we should be playing God. I can't believe people would be that selfish. Really? I realize this was done to "save a child," but shouldn't you look at it through the baby's eyes, too? How would it make you feel if you were born for the soul reason of donating blood to your sister? I mean, it's noble and everything, but that would kind of suck, knowing that if you don't donate, your sister dies and it's all your fault. There is no way I could ever put a child through that. Isn't it bad enough watching one child suffer through surgeries and painful blood procedures? I've seen the effects of them, and it's not easy.

I also forgot to mention that there is a middle brother. So the oldest sister is sick. The youngest sister is used as a blood bank. And brother? What does he get? Nothing. Mom is too busy shuttling the sick sister around and using Anna to hopefully make Kate better. It's sad. At least my sister and I had each other, and we were in the same boat. The brother, though, he must feel so left out. And helpless.

Then, I think it's completely sad that the parents can't even stand up for Anna. She has to get a lawyer to do it for her. When my sister and I were tested to check our blood type, our parents asked us if we would be willing to donate. They asked. And I was exactly the same age as Anna in the book. I understood what was going on, and my parents knew that. Anna's mom treats Anna like a child and defends herself, saying Anna is too young to understand what is going on. I think that's ridiculous. Children are a lot smarter than they are often given credit for. And remember, when Anna was born, Kate already had leukemia. So for 11 years, all Anna knows is a cancer-ridden Kate. My sister and I understood all of my brother's blood counts when we were younger than 11. We knew which ones needed to be higher (white blood cells and platelets), and that red blood cells needed to be less. We might not have understood the biology behind everything, but we knew the basics and all the options, and the risks. I just can't imagine a parent having so little faith in their child. I understand why she would want her daughter to be a donor, I really do, but I don't think I could ever force an 11 year old to donate a kidney. That's a painful surgery, and a long recovery, and then the quality of life goes down after that.

And then there's always the question: What if it doesn't work? How could you watch your youngest go through something like that, and then the kidney doesn't help and the oldest sister dies anyway? Now you have an 11 year old who has lost a sister, she is minus a kidney and feels guilty that her kidney didn't help her sister.

See? Lots and lots of feelings with this movie/book. It's a good book, but man, does it make you cry. It brings up a lot of ethical issues, too, so if that's not your thing, I wouldn't read it. I only read it/watched it because of my relationship with leukemia. If you want to actually know the whole story, or how it ends, I would recommend the book, not the movie. The movie is good, but it doesn't even scratch the surface on the emotions of everyone in the book.