Response to Orr and Siegler--collective intentionality and procreative desires: the permissible view on consent to posthumous conception

Postmortem sperm retrieval in context of developing countries of Indian subcontinent

There was a request for postmortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) from the wife of a deceased, but we had to decline. We have no guideline in place for the procedure in such cases. When we explored the international scenario on the issue of PMSR, we found that most of the developed countries have their guidelines about it, whether to allow or not to. There is not guideline available in developing countries, as such, for the procedure and various medical, legal, and social issues related thereto. In this article, we have explored the status of postmortem retrieval and feasibility of the procedure in developing countries of Indian subcontinent.

Perimortem gamete retrieval: should we worry about consent?

Perimortem gamete retrieval has been a possibility for several decades. It involves the surgical extraction of gametes which can then be cryo-preserved and stored for future use. Usually, the request for perimortem gamete retrieval is made by the patient's partner after the patient himself, or herself, has lost the capacity to consent for the procedure. Perimortem gamete retrieval allows for the partner of a dead patient to pursue jointly held reproductive aspiration long after their loved one's death. But how can we know if the dying patient would have consented to gamete retrieval? In the UK, consent is a legal necessity for storing or using gametes-but this is not always enforced. Moreover, although the issues related to posthumous reproduction have been discussed at length in the literature, few commentators have addressed the specific question of retrieval. Gamete retrieval is an invasive and sensitive operation; as with any other intervention performed on the bodies of dead or dying patients, the nature and justification for this procedure needs to be carefully considered. In particular, it is important to question the idea that consent for such an intervention can be inferred solely from a person's known wishes or plans concerning reproduction.