The "moral implications" of the birth, on 12th October in Spain, of the first child selected to heal his brother who is suffering from a hereditary disease called Beta Thalassemia Major, a form of severe anaemia that forces him to undergo constant blood transfusions, have to be clarified. With this advisory titled "Curing People without killing Anyone" the general secretary’s office of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference highlighted the fact that media had kept silent on these moral implications. "By the technique used, the preimplantation genetic diagnosis, the embryos obtained through the in vitro fertilisation are selected and only those that are not carrying a genetic disease are chosen," read the advisory. "Between those that are chosen, only those who are the most compatible with the ill brother are implanted in the mother’s uterus. The others are destroyed or frozen." Media have stressed the "good news of a child’s birth" and the "possibility for his brother to be cured." "Put in these terms, the news is good for everyone."
