Kerala HC Approves Gamete Extraction From Critically Ill Husband For ART

Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has granted relief to a childless couple where the husband is critically ill, allowing the extraction and cryopreservation of his gametes for potential use by his wife in an Assisted Reproductive Technology procedure to conceive a child.

Justice V.G. Arun provided this interim relief based on the wife’s request, despite the husband’s inability to give consent, a requirement under the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Act. The husband’s deteriorating health made it impossible to obtain his informed written consent, prompting the wife to seek the court’s intervention.

Her lawyers argued that any delay could lead to a worsening of the husband’s condition, making the procedure impossible. Taking these factors into account, the court found the wife entitled to the requested interim relief.

“Taking the above factors into consideration, and being guided by equity in the absence of an enabling statutory provision, I find the 1st petitioner (wife) to be entitled for the interim relief sought. Hence, the 5th respondent (hospital) is permitted to extract the gametes of X (husband) and cryopreserve the same for use by the 1st petitioner,” the court stated in its August 16 order.

The court emphasized that no further steps under the ART Regulation Act, apart from the extraction and preservation of the gametes, shall be taken without its approval. The case is scheduled for further hearing on September 9.