In an incubated petri dish in a Boston laboratory, a cluster of eight living cells holds the key to a daring new era of medical science. These cells come from a human embryo, containing genetic material from my wife, Paulina, and me, obtained through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Research using these cells holds enormous potential to cure a fatal disease, saving the lives of countless children and relieving their families of unspeakable pain. We lived that pain ourselves. When our son was born we didn’t know what a tortuous road stretched ahead of us– how our baby would suffer, and how we’d suffer with him. My wife and I know our story and its difficult moral choices is highly controversial. We’ve chosen to share it to give the issue a human face and voice—and to give hope to other families facing similar dilemmas.