New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has been informed that there is no law in the country to release the frozen semen sample of an unmarried deceased male to his parents or legal heirs. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, in an affidavit filed before the high court, said that the ART regulations in the central government's gazette do not specify the procedure of disposal or utilisation of semen sample of an unmarried person who has died.
The hospital's response came on a petition by a couple seeking directions for the release of the frozen semen sample of their deceased son from a centre at the Ganga Ram Hospital. The high court had sought a response from the hospital and Delhi government on the petition in December last year.
According to the hospital, in the absence of any guideline, it was unable to make final disposal of this frozen sample of the deceased. It informed the court that the sample is cryopreserved at its centre. The ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Act, ICMR guidelines, Surrogacy Bill/Act are silent about the legal heirs of the unmarried deceased men to whom the semen frozen sample of semen to be released, stated the affidavit filed by Director Medical, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
There are no ART laws nor legal procedure in the country to release the frozen semen sample of unmarried male to parents/legal heirs. The recent Gazette of India, Ministry of Law & Justice, in the ART regulation Act, 2021 also does not mention regarding disposal/utilisation of semen sample of an unmarried person, it added. The hospital stated that according to a decision of the Calcutta High Court, only a wife has a right over the frozen sample of their unmarried deceased son.
In the instant case, the petitioners' unmarried son, after being diagnosed with cancer, had frozen his semen sample in 2020 before the start of chemotherapy. In the petition, the petitioners said that being the only surviving heirs of their son who died at the age of 30 years, they have the foremost right over his bodily remains. The purpose of obtaining the sperm of the deceased is to continue the legacy of their deceased son, they stated.
