Tonight, we take a closer look at one of the most difficult debates in the complex field of fertility medicine: how to balance the privacy rights of sperm and egg donors against the rights of families who want to know the health history and risks of their babies. At least 8,000 babies a year are born in this country from donated eggs.
Today in Chicago, the first national conference on creating a US registry of sperm and egg donors was held. Here’s ABC’s Barbara Pinto. Jessica Grace Wing was the ideal egg donor. “Jessica was uh..was 5’11”, tall, slender, attractive. She had done modeling in her teen years. She was a graduate of Stanford.” But seven years after she was paid to donate her eggs, Jessica died of colon cancer.
The rare diagnosis for a woman in her twenties is something Jessica’s biological children may never know. Jessica’s mother wanted to find the families to warn them of a genetic risk. So she contacted the broker who sold her daughter’s eggs. “I asked her to tell me, if she could, who these other families were. Unfortunately, she had destroyed the records.”
Jessica’s case sheds light on the delicate question of where a donor’s right to privacy ends and a child’s right to know begins. Many of those donors were in college in the prime of health when they donated. They were thoroughly tested, but what if they or their family members develop an illness later on? In most cases, there is no way to pass that crucial information on to their offspring.
It is a complicated issue for an industry that guarantees anonymity. “One thing we know is that if we make it too intrusive, people will not have access to these services because donors will not come forward.” “Nobody’s keeping track. No one’s monitoring their health histories.” Wendy Kramer has done what the industry has yet to do. She’s created a voluntary online database that’s connected thousands of children and their donors - a way to share valuable information.
“All four of the donors’ grandparents died from cancer.” Kramer started this site to help her son Ryan find his biological father. “I feel that my right to know who my donor is and know my genetic origin is just as strong, if not stronger, than my donor’s right to remain anonymous.” But without major changes in the industry, Ryan and so many other children in this brave new world may never know answers to questions that could possibly save their lives. Barbara Pinto, ABC News, Chicago.
debate : 논쟁[토론] 하다, 논쟁, 토론 complex : 복잡한, 복합의, 복합체, 합성물, 대형 아파트, 종합 빌 딩, 콤비나트 (공장 결합) ex. a complex problem 복잡한 문제 / ex. a housing complex 주택 단지 / ex. a massive concrete complex 콘크리트의 거대한 종합 건축물 fertility : 비옥, 다산, 풍부, 수정(受精)능력, 번식력, (토지의)산출력 * infertility : 불모, 불임 (a. infertile) * fertility rate : 출산율 balance : 균형, 평형, 저울, 평형 [ 균형 ] 을 잡다 [ 맞추다 ] * balance A against [with] B: A와 B의 균형을 맞추 다 = strike a balance (between~ A and B) : (=achieve a good balance between ~) 균형을 이루다[타협하다], 균형적 [공평한] 해결 [조정] 을 찾다 ex. She is trying hard to strike a balance between maintaining her job and caring for her kids. ex. We want the classes to be both enjoyable and useful -- we're trying to strike the right balance. * hang/be in the balance : 어느 쪽으로 기 울지 모르는 불안정한 상태에 있다 / if something is in the balance, you do not know whether it will succeed or fail ex. Jack's career is hanging in the balance while they consider what to do. sperm : 정액(semen), 정자 egg : 알, 난자 history : 경력, 이력, 내력, 병력(病歷) * a medical history of the patient 환자의 병력 * a personal history 경력, 이력서 registry : 등록, 등기, 등록부, 등기부 slender : 호리호리한, 날씬한, <수입 등이> 얼마 안 되는, ex. a slender income 얼마 안 되는 수입 ex. slender wages ex. a slender chance of survival. graduate : 졸업생, 대학원생. 학사 학위를 가진, 대학을 졸업한, 졸업하다 (from ...) * a Yale graduate; a graduate from (or of) Yale University 예일대학 졸업 생. * a graduate student 대학원생 / * graduate courses 대학원 과정 ex. He graduated from a vocational training school. 그는 직업 훈련 학교 를 졸업했다. colon : 결장 ex. colon cancer 결장암, 대장암 diagnosis : 진단(v. diagnose) * diagnose <병을> (…이라고) 진단하다. ex. The doctor diagosed her illness as smallpox. 의사는 그녀의 병을 천 연두라고 진단했다. (항상 병을 목적어로 하며 diagnose her as ‥라고 하 는 것은 잘못) ex. He was diagnosed with cancer. ex. The soldiers were diagnosed as having flu. ex. A psychiatrist diagnosed her as severely depressed. biological : 생물학 (상)의, 생물학적 * biological parents : 친부모 /* biological indicators : 지표생물 *abiological father : 생부 / * a biological mother 생모 shed light on~ : ~ 을 비추다, ~ 을 조명하다. / to provide new information that helps you understand something ex. I had hoped that he would be able to shed some light on the problem. prime : 제 1의, 주요한, 으뜸가는, 가장 중요한, [the ~, one's ~] 전 성기, 한창 때 ex. in one's prime 인생의 한창 때에 thoroughly : 철저히 pass ~ on (to) : 1. (... 에게 ) ~ 을 전달하다 (to give someone something that someone else has given you) 2. 병 따위를 옮기다 3. 비 용 따위를 전가하다 ( to make someone who is buying something from you pay for the cost of something) ex. When you've read this message, please pass it on. / ex. Could you pass the message on to Mr. John? ex. I took the day off work because I didn't want to pass on my flu to everyone in the office. ex. The retailer is forced to pass these extra costs on to the customer. offspring : (pl. -spring, ∼ s) 자식, (짐승의) 새끼 complicated : 복잡한, 이해하기 어려운 * complicate 복잡하게 하다, 이해하기 어렵게 하다 anonymity : 익명 * anonymous : 익명의 intrusive : 침입의, 주제넘게 참견하는 * intrude : 참 견하다, 침입하다 ex. I was very concerned about her but I didn't want to intrude. * intrude into/on/upon: ex. The new laws will intrude on people's personal freedom. / ex. intrude into a room 방으로 밀고 들어가다 access : ~ 에 접근하는 길, (물건을) 이용 [입수]하는 기회, (남에 게의) 접근, 면회 (의 기회), ~ 에 접근하다, 입수[이용]하다 * accessible : (장소·사람 등이) 접근하기 쉬운, 출입할 수 있는, 면접하기 쉬운 ex. Access to up-to-date financial information is important to our success. ex. gain access: Some groups still have difficulty gaining access to the information. ex. She's one of a handful of aides with direct access to the president. ex. There is easy access to the countryside by rail. keep track (of ~) : (~ 을 ) 기억하고 있다, (사태의 진전상황 등을) 계 속 알고 있다, 상황을 잘 파악하다 ex. It's hard to keep track of time in here. * opp. lose track of ~ ~ 을 놓치다, 잊다 ex. I lost track of time. 시간 가는 줄 몰랐다. has yet to : 아직 ~ 하지 않았다. ex. Pyongyang has yet to come up with a formal response to the proposal. 북한은 아직 그 제의에 대한 공식 입장을 밝히지 않았다. ex. To our regret, the number of smokers in this country has yet to decline. 유감스럽게도 , 우리나라 흡연 인구는 아직 줄지 않았다. genetic : 유전자의 (gene 유전자) ex. genetic code : 유전자 암호 ex. genetic defect : 유전자 결함 ex. genetic screening : 유전자 검사, 유전학적 스크리닝 (개인의 유전적 질병의 발견과 예방을 위한 조사) ex. a genetic aberration 유전자 변이 brave new world : 멋진 신세계(Shakespeare작의 The Tempest 에서 유래) / a situation in which people expect their lives to be better than before, especially because of new technology, but are often disappointed that things have not improved as much as they had hoped ex. the brave new world of Internet banking * brave new : Brave new is used to refer to something new, esp. to suggest that there is some doubt that it can be good or successful. ex. The government revealed its brave new approach to homelessness at the press conference.