Posted on 06/10/2011 11:33:24 AM PDT by TheDingoAteMyBaby
Moms give birth to sons or daughters - pretty straightforward stuff. But when one English toddler grows up and starts a family, her child will be her own half-sibling.
At least that's the plan.
The toddler, two-year-old Mackenzie Stephens, was born without ovaries, so her 25-year-old mother, Penny Jarvis, intends to freeze her own eggs so that Mackenzie can use them someday to start her own family, the Daily Mail reported.
Jarvis, of Sheffield, England, told the paper she was devastated when she learned that Mackenzie would be infertile - the result of Turner Syndrome, a female-only genetic disorder that affects about one in 2,000 girls.
"She has three sisters and I couldn't imagine her growing up and watching them all have children while she couldn't have any of her own," Jarvis said. "Obviously, every mother wants to be a grandmother someday - that's what they dream of."
Jarvis said she read up on Mackenzie's condition and discovered that egg donation was a possibility.
But not everyone thinks the plan is such a great idea. Some medical ethicists say it could cause psychological problems for the mother - in this case Mackenzie - and leave her child confused about the relationship with her mother and grandmother.
"One can fully understand the sadness for a mother to discover that her little daughter suffers from Turner Syndrome, but I do not think putting her own eggs in the freezer is either a practical or an ethical solution," Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, told the paper. "Psychologists are already talking about the trauma of genealogical bewilderment, as egg and sperm donation and surrogacy create more and more artificial conceptions."
As for Jarvis, she seems unconcerned.
"A few people have told me they think it's a bit sick, but on the whole people have been supportive," she told the paper. "You could look at it as Mackenzie giving birth to her own brother or sister, but I choose not to see it like that."
Whatever you say, Mom. Or is it Grandma?
/johnny
By doing this and all the other means of artificial insemination and embryonic implantation, aren’t we just passing on the genes of those who have problems conceiving?
My own personal belief, in respect of the values I believe are important, the toddler, “two-year-old Mackenzie Stephens”, should, if she wants to be a mom, adopt children when she, Mackenzie, is grown-up and married. Just my opinion.
I find it odd that her mother is enabling her to basically give birth to her own half-siblings.
The problem is caused by a female having just one X chromosome.
Agreed.
For that matter, donor eggs from one of her SISTERS makes more sense genetically than from her mother as they’d contain both her father’s and mother’s genes.
...incest by Proxy ...!?!
Turner Syndrome basically is just that. Males are “XY” and females “XX” but Turners kids are “XO” meaning the chromosome from one parent is missing. It’s not “inherited” per se, so much as being caused by an errant cell division by one of the parents’ reproductive systems.
I can’t recall (since I’m not a doctor) whether it’s the sperm or egg that is usually the faulty cell.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
The article doesnt explain how they found out this 2 yo was infertile
What on earth type of test or what were they looking for in the body of a toddler when they found or didnt find the ovaries ???
What was wrong with her ???
That, and why does her mother, at 25, have a different last name from her own child and also has three other children?
I’m my own Grandpa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0s5Kn9QXtU
Turner’s Syndrome has other outward symptoms that would have prompted them to do genetic tests to find the problem, and perhaps other examinations.
A neighbor of mine growing up had this condition.
I’d agree that it’s ethically wrong. As to mom,child having different last name, mom may never have changed her maiden name, but chooses to have the children’s last name after dad. [You know, there are women with careers who use their name in business and a change in last name can cause their clients not to find them. Doctors/Lawyers, etc. I know one family where this is the case. I’m not saying that’s the case here, but it does happen.]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001417/
Turner syndrome
Bonnevie-Ullrich syndrome; Gonadal dysgenesis; Monosomy X
Last reviewed: October 14, 2009.
Turner syndrome is a genetic condition in which a female does not have the usual pair of two X chromosomes.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Humans have 46 chromosomes. Chromosomes contain all of your genes and DNA, the building blocks of the body. Two of these chromosomes, the sex chromosomes, determine if you become a boy or a girl. Females normally have two of the same sex chromosomes, written as XX. Males have an X and a Y chromosome (written as XY).
In Turner syndrome, cells are missing all or part of an X chromosome. The condition only occurs in females. Most commonly, the female patient has only one X chromosome. Others may have two X chromosomes, but one of them is incomplete. Sometimes, a female has some cells with two X chromosomes, but other cells have only one.
Turner syndrome occurs in about 1 out of 2,000 live births.
Symptoms
Possible symptoms in young infants include:
*Swollen hands and feet
*Wide and webbed neck
A combination of the following symptoms may be seen in older females:
*Absent or incomplete development at puberty, including sparse pubic hair and small breasts
*Broad, flat chest shaped like a shield
*Drooping eyelids
*Dry eyes
*Infertility
*No periods (absent menstruation)
*Short height
*Vaginal dryness, can lead to painful intercourse
I want to clone myself and then give birth to me (not really).
In this case, definitely. From what I’ve learned from research with my daughter, Turners Syndrome is chromosomal and hereditary.
It would do well to let a donor donate her eggs.
A quick read on this syndrome shows that she may end up with: high blood pressure, kidney disease, thyroid problems, diabetes , cataracts and weight problems.
Any one of these (absent cataracts) can put the life of the woman an/or the baby at risk.
To me the possible confusion of the child growing up is minor to the issue of the risk of lives.
I think someone will do that one day. Why not you? :)
Are they actually expecting the child someday to undergo in vitro fertilization and carry the child herself?
Can any female without ovaries actually have a pregnancy? Aren’t the ovaries needed for a myriad of other hormonal tasks during this process?
I conclude that they are talking about a third party surrogate mother—someday.
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