The need to address legal ambiguity on conceiving saviour siblings in Malaysia

Abstract

Conceiving a saviour sibling can be a vital treatment option for a child suffering from a haematological condition. However, the legality of this option may be called into question in countries where there is no clear law or policy regarding the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis with HLA typing (PGD-HLA typing) or HLA typing alone for this purpose. In Malaysia for instance, there is no legislative framework governing the use of assisted reproductive technology and the only guidance appears to be provided by guidelines issued by the Malaysian Medical Council. In the absence of clear direction, broad guidelines or policy positions taken by such statutory bodies may heavily influence the practice or roll out of certain technologically advanced therapeutic interventions.Previous literature has construed this Guideline narrowly as prohibiting this practice. This paper argues that the narrow and traditional interpretation method used in previous literature is wanting and suggests a more meaningful approach to the interpretation of the Guideline and advocates that this interpretative method should be applied in similar instances involving technologically advanced treatment modalities in other similar situations. Such guidance documents should be interpreted in a manner which takes into account the nature of the technology, its implications and intended use.