One. Four. Five.

The latest episode of private practice had parents needing to make the choice of choosing between their 8 year old twins which one to save with the spinal cord fluid from their younger brother whom the parents only had with the intention of obtaining the fluid. As one of the twins were too weak for the treatment, there was no real choice to make in the end. But the thing that hit me most was when the twins got news of the choice. How would you react if you were told that your best friend is going to die, and because of that you were going to live?

Let me tell you how you would react: You will be sad, genuinely sad, and in a rage of frenzy insist that either you both get the cure, or that neither of you do. A stroke of irrationality may even induce you to offer to give it up for your best friend and bet against the chances of survival, but in the end, there will always be teary-eyed scene of self-sacrifice. In response, your best friend will stay calm, be controlled and encourage you to take the cure and live your life.

Why would we all react this way? why isn't there an alternative? It is because there is no better way to play the situation out and everyone knows this. The one that can get the cure is ultimately going to get the cure anyway, as both twins dying is not an option, therefore there is nothing to lose in acting in a self-sacrificial manner. Whilst as angry as the dying twin might be of his bad luck, there is nothing he can do to alter the circumstances, and the most beneficial response to the self sacrifice is accept the impossibility and help his best friend come to terms with his survival.