A 50 year-old Israeli couple have fought for the legal
system to authorise posthumous sperm retrieval from their son who died in a car
accident at the age of 25. They want to "give him the chance" to
father a child because he wanted "a family". "Keen to become
grandparents", they want to raise this child themselves.
In September, the Petah Tikva Family Court granted
permission to the family to raise the child to be conceived from their son's
sperm and purchased eggs. The family had decided to implant the eggs in the
uterus of a surrogate mother. However, despite the decision given in September,
the Court announced that the family should prepare for an appeal given the
unusual circumstances of the case brought by this couple who want to be both
parents and grandparents to their son's offspring. Pending a final decision,
the Court has placed an injunction on the couple, banning them from using their
deceased son’s sperm.
This case of posthumous sperm retrieval is the first
of its kind in Israel. Since 2003, Israeli law has authorised the retrieval of
posthumous sperm samples only for subsequent insemination or implantation by
in-vitro fertilisation or for the deceased person’s wife to be inseminated.
Some countries authorise posthumous sperm retrieval if the deceased has left
written authorisation to this effect. It is prohibited in
France, Germany and Sweden.
Oh, God, that's too tough to read!! What an incredible story!
ReplyDeleteWhile passing surrogacy treatment in Biotexcom we met a couple preparing for ivf with TESE. Then I did some research and found out this is not the only way to retrieve sperm. There six! main SSR treatments. All work a little differently. ~
PESA. This is perhaps the simplest and least invasive SSR procedure. Sperm is collected through a fine needle directly from the epididymis. It’s performed under local anaesthetic. If PESA doesn’t work, then NAB (needle aspiration biopsy) can be tried.
TESE. If both PESA and NAB fail, this technique can be used. TESE is a more invasive procedure. Biopsies are taken from a larger area of testicular tissue, not the epididymis. These are examined under a microscope to find small numbers of usable sperm. It’s perhaps the most popular surgical sperm retrieval method.
Micro-dissection TESE. This is slowly replacing TESE as a more optimal form of retrieval for men with no sperm in their semen. Very similar to the TESE technique, micro-TESE uses a micro-dissecting microscope to pinpoint the tissue to be removed. Much smaller biopsies are taken. Less damage is caused to the structure inside the testicle.
TESA. A needle is inserted in the testicle using a biopsy ‘gun’. This obtains samples of sperm and tissue using gentle suction. These are then carefully dissected under a microscope. Like the other techniques, any sperm found are cultured and/or frozen for future use in an IVF cycle – typically using ICSI.
Percutaneous biopsy. This is similar to TESA, but a different needle is used. It’s sometimes called a fine needle biopsy. A biopsy is taken from the testicular tissue and it usually retrieves a larger number of sperm.
MESA. This procedure usually requires a general anaesthetic, as a microscope is used. It’s carried out when PESA is not possible and may also allow an attempt to surgically correct any obstruction. There’s a 70% success rate.
Nowadays medicine creates miracles! Even in such weird situations like the one described above. A kind of a brainstorming thing..
I've heard this story once. And I was shocked! And amazed at the same time. But this case wasn't one of the first at all. As far as I know it comes back to 80s when postmortem sperm retrieval was first reported. It was a case involving a 30-year old man who became brain dead after a motor vehicle accident. His family requested sperm preservation. In these case men's death commonly caused by trauma, anoxic injuries or rapidly-progressing infections. Because these illnesses are unanticipated, the patient typically has not given prior written or verbal consent to sperm retrieval. In these situations, physicians who are asked to perform sperm retrieval. Such sperm storage and artificial insemination face difficult ethical issues.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge variety of scenarios, though. But for me this looks like one more chance..For everyone in the family..To keep the close person by side for longer..Views differ though.
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ReplyDeleteIt may sound strange to the majority of us. But I think there's nothing criminal about it. People grieve about the car accident which took away their offspring. They want to give the second chance for his cells to continue living. So they do the thing mentioned, get sperms which can be further used for ART techniques. This way they can have his offspring if lucky of course..Strange and amazing at the same time..
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