In other words, the reproductive technology of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to give birth to test-tube babies is nothing new. This miraculous reproductive technology is not only a major breakthrough in medicine, but also brings benefits to infertile people. Great good news has come.
In fact, the source of sperm when performing artificial insemination is not limited to living men and sperm banks, it can also come from deceased men!
This is related to another medical technology - postmortem sperm retrieval surgery (PSR)...
After a man dies, or to be precise, he is declared brain dead, the sperm in his body can still survive24-36 Hours later, there are even clinical cases showing that sperm with strong motility can survive far longer than this period under suitable conditions!
Therefore, in some special cases, family members will ask doctors to help remove the sperm of the deceased male and preserve it, and then use artificial insemination to produce children to reproduce.
Such a case has occurred in the United States before...
Ana and Michael Clark was a young couple who had just been married for a year. They were very loving but had no children yet. Michael, 25 years old at the time, was a sergeant who had served in the United States Marine Corps for 27 years and had won numerous medals and honors.
When he received the order to be dispatched overseas for the fifth time, the couple decided to take a trip before they separated. Unexpectedly, this trip turned out to be their real farewell trip...
While driving a motorcycle to his destination on the highway in California , Michael made a mistake and the two of them fell off the cliff...
Ana, who had suffered severe fractures of her spine and shoulder, woke up in the hospital bed. Knowing that her husband had died in the accident, Michael's passing alone made her very sad. Remembering that her husband had mentioned his plan to have children during his lifetime made her even more miserable:
"We were talking about this just a week or two ago. When he received the assignment overseas, he expressed regret to me. He said that he was too busy with work now and did not even have time to go to the sperm bank to cryopreserve sperm. "
A friend of Ana learned about this. After the incident, she was advised to extract Michael's sperm. After some online and phone consultations, she finally found a doctor who was willing to collect Michael's sperm from the deceased. So Ana did not hesitate to invite a hearse to collect Michael's sperm. The body was transported to the hospital where the man was located, and was sent back after the operation...
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She said: "This gives me a hope, I feel that he has not completely left me, and I can let a part of him live. Just a small part of my life, a small part of Michael. He was a very good man and a good soldier, and I was filled with joy at the thought of someone like this continuing his heroic path. Motivation."
Although this kind of behavior that means "trying to preserve a part of the deceased" is largely out of the original intention of love, in fact, for a long time, "sperm collection after death" has been in the medical practice of various countries around the world. There are great controversies in law, ethics, and other aspects!
There is no precise definition of who can perform this kind of surgery and who can undergo this kind of surgery. Even the doctor who previously performed postmortem sperm retrieval surgery on Michael said: "Internationally There are no specific regulations on this. For example, there are many laws on tissues and organs in the United States, but they do not apply to tissues that are classified as renewable.â
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In recent years, some courts have also ruled that Semen has a higher legal status than blood, bone marrow, and organs. They believe that other tissues and organs may be used to save lives, but sperm and eggs go further. After all, they are entities that can recreate life.
However, a judge once said when explaining the organ donation policy: "If a man does not explicitly refuse to donate in advance, his organs, including semen, can be donated by his parents after his death."
In short, the debate on "post-mortem sperm collection" has never stopped, but an accurate result has never been obtained...
An incident reported by the British media once again put "death" The question of whether it is reasonable to "retrieve sperm later" has been brought to the table:
"A wealthy British couple removed the sperm of their 26-year-old son from their 26-year-old son who died three days after a motorcycle accident in order to create a grandson"...
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To understand this whole thing, we have to start a few years ago...
The wealthy British couple in the report only gave birth to one son after getting married. Since he was the only child, he must have received The couple loved each other so much. After all, he would also be the sole heir to the family's property. The son thrived under the comprehensive care and protection, and soon grew up to be a handsome young man...
As the years go by , their son is already 26 years old, and he has reached the age to get married and have children. This wealthy couple is looking forward to their son getting married as soon as possible so that they can have grandchildren for them to hug and so on.
However, what they didnât expect was! , their son had an accident at this time - he died in a motorcycle accident...
This bolt from the blue undoubtedly dealt a huge blow to the couple. They could not accept the fact that their son was dead, so they They desperately tried their best to "save" their son's life, even if they spent all their money, they still had to "leave" something...
In the end, they decided to use post-mortem sperm retrieval surgery to keep their son's sperm. Then find a pregnant woman to give them a grandson through artificial insemination!
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In order to give birth to a boy to inherit the family property, and to ease the pain of losing their son, the couple decided to only have a grandson, which also involves choosing the gender of IVF. problem, and this is illegal in the UK!
So they quickly asked a doctor to take out the sperm from their sonâs body and refrigerate it, and then found an American doctor, David Smotrich. Dr. David was not only an expert in in vitro fertilization. A pioneer in related surgeries...
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After a year of research and application, they finally succeeded in sending their sonâs sperm to Dr. Davidâs clinic in California, USA.
In order to " "Grandson" has better qualifications, so they insist on finding eggs from a woman who is similar to their son in appearance and other qualities for artificial insemination.
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In order to ensure that the child must be a male, they asked the doctor to create four embryos using their son's sperm just in case. In the end, the couple got their wish in 2015 and got their "grandson" and took him with them. Back to living in the UK...
The total medical expenses for sperm retrieval, artificial insemination and pregnancy reached about 60,000 pounds to 100,000 pounds (equivalent to 500,000 to 800,000 yuan)!
But perhaps for this wealthy couple, the money can be exchanged for a "grandson" is really not worth it anymore...
This matter was originally carried out secretly by the couple in private, but somehow However, it was reported in major media. Some legal experts said that their behavior was illegal and they were likely to be charged. Moreover, even the doctor who helped them obtain sperm at the time also broke the law...
This is because according to the British It is stipulated that this kind of sperm collection after death must be approved by the deceased in writing, otherwise it is illegal!
After this article was reported, it also attracted various discussions among netizens...
"As a parent, I can understand why they did this."
"I think it is totally fine. I think that child will There is nothing more to be desired than being well loved. I believe that many people would make the same choice after experiencing such an accident if they had the conditions and methods."
" I don't think this is a wrong thing, what kind of parents after going through such grief wouldn't want to have the same chance to leave their own offspring? I agree with the doctor, this is their honor. Wouldn't it be nice to think that the children born can be well loved? "
But there are also many netizens who have different opinions...
"Why is this kind of thing legal? "
" It turns out that wealth, for some people, means being able to transcend complex social cognition and moral norms to satisfy personal needs and desires. "
" is quite scary. It means that the rights of rich people are greater than the law, and money can buy everything. "
In fact, there is confusion all over the world as to whether "sperm collection after death" is reasonable or illegal! Bystanders have their own opinions, and for those who have truly lost their loved ones, they also have their own opinions. The idea, maybe this is really the only way for them to gain some "contact" with the deceased...
