Societal Issues with Chimerism

The discovery of chimerism is beginning to show its impacts on society.  In several situations, courts have ordered children to be taken away from their mothers because their DNA did match the results of a paternity test.  Two women in particular have been in the news for this exact reason recently: Lydia Fairchild and Karen Keegan (pictured at left).  Click here for a series of videos on chimeric individuals such as Lydia Fairchild and Karen Keegan.  After years of medical procedures to find a way to overturn the court sanction, the mothers proved the children were in fact of their blood.  These women were chimeras, a once believed extremely rare phenomenon.  Frequently the DNA in their ovaries did not match the DNA in their blood stream.  This in turn leads to the issue of forensic DNA testing.  If individuals can comprised of two different strands of DNA, then DNA testing may not be as reliable as once perceived by society.  Also, the possibilities that chimerism may provide cures for diseases is extremely appealing.  Researchers believe chimerism may help with diseases such as sickle cell anemia, genetic birth defects, rheumatoid arthritis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and lupus.  However, allowing a person to have two different DNA's could provoke ethical arguments.  Currently chimerism has many pros and cons, but a great deal of research is still needed to determine the validity of its benefits or risks.