Anna was genetically selected to be a stem cell donor for her sister Kate. When the initial treatments fail, pressure is on Anna to be an organ donor for her sister.
Broadcaster: Channel 4
Year: 2012
Genre: Film, Fiction, Drama
URL: http://bobnational.net/record/287169
Nick Cassavetes‘ 2009 film version of Jodi Picoult’s novel. 11 year old Anna Fitzgerald seeks medical emancipation from her parents in order to prevent them requiring her to donate a kidney to her older sister Kate. The film picks up on a number of important ethical conundrums arising from the ability to select “saviour siblings” using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.
The IMDB entry for this film is available via this link.
A Bioethicsbytes post about Picoult’s 2004 novel (which has significant plot differences compared against the film) is available via this link and the issues are explored more fully in this extended commentary.
Biology on the Box 