TEXT A.

For the Sake of Some Umbilical Cells, an Anemic Child Gains Two Sisters
When Lea Ann and Brad Curry of Lanesville, Indiana, first lifted the hands of tiny daughter
Natalie, their hearts clutched. The babys left thumb was missing, and her right thumb was
useless. The radius bone was missing from the infant's left arm. The doctors' diagnosis was
devastating: Fanconi's anemia. Unless Natalie received a new immune system from
transplanted stem cells, the units from which all blood cells derive, she faced a short life of
severe anemia and possible retardation.
The Currys didn't waste time searching for bone-marrow donors outside the family. Instead,
Lea Ann got pregnant. When that fetus miscarried, Lea Ann waited a month, then got
pregnant again. The couple gained a healthy baby, Audrey, but she was an unsuitable donor.
Within twelve weeks, Lea Ann was pregnant again, this time with Emily, whose tissue proved
compatible. So doctors collected and stored her blood from Emilys umbilical cord blood
rich in stem cells. Twenty months after Emilys birth, the cord blood was transplanted into her
sister, then 4.
To those who say it is wrong to produce one life to rescue another, Lea Ann responds,
Who are they to judge? Her own answer is that Natalie, now 6, is healthy as are her sisters.
TIME, June 17, 1991
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973186,00.html

TEXT B.
Embryo genetic screening controversial - and successful
A "slippery slope" to "a world of eugenics," as bioethics authorities once worried, or a healthy
life for a teenage girl?
Once at the center of a science controversy, Molly Nash, 15, represents the human answer to
the debate over a genetic screening technique, "pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)
that made headlines a decade ago.
In Molly's case, her mother and father turned to PGD to pick out the embryo implanted to
give birth to her brother, Adam, in an effort to save Molly's life.
"She's a typical teenage girl, she loves to dance, loves the theater," says nurse Lisa Nash of
Denver, Molly's mom. "We never thought she would live to see 15."
A bone marrow transplant in 2000 cured Molly of Fanconis Anemia, a rare illness that kills
many of its victims before the age of 7. The cord blood cells transplanted into Molly came
from her then newborn brother, Adam. Now 9, Adam was the first reported case of baby
selected as an embryo in a fertility lab for birth because his immune system characteristics
made him an ideal transplant candidate for his sister. For the Nashes, giving birth to another
child with those matching characteristics offered the only chance to save their daughter.
"Adam knows he helped his sister, that's all. They're normal kids," says Lisa Nash.
USA Today, October 1, 2010
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2010-01-10-embryo-genetic-screening_N.htm

COMPREHENSION
Text A
1) Complete the following grid about the characters.
Name

Relation to the other characters

2) True or False. Justify your answer by quoting from the text.

a)
b)
c)
d)

Audrey saved her sister.

The parents thought it would be easy to find a suitable donor
Childrens who suffer from Fanconis Anemia have a long life expectancy.
Natalie didnt have to wait long for transplantation.

3) How did people view Audreys and Emilys birth?

4)

A) Would you say that these parents are :

Irresponsible determined immature courageous careless
B) Explain your choice

Text B
5) Present all the characters (name, relationship and job whenever possible)
6) How was Adam conceived?
7) To what extent can we say that Adam is a medicine baby?
8) Why is his birth a scientific breakthrough?
9) A) Would you say that these parents are :
Irresponsible determined immature courageous careless
B) Explain your choice

Text A and B
10) To what extent can both stories be linked to the idea of progress?

PERSONAL OPINION
You will do either subject 1 OR subject 2 AND 3
Subject 1 (200 words minimum): would you say that progress in medicine is a blessing or a
curse?
OR
Subject 2 (100 words minimum): how would you feel if you were one of these children
conceived to save you sister?
AND
Subject 3 (100 words minimum): write a letter to the editor to TIME magazine (text A) or
USA Today (text B) to react to the article.