Gujarat HC Orders Hospital to Collect Sperm of COVID Patient
A private hospital in Vadodara collected and preserved the sperm of a man suffering from multi-organ failure following post-Covid complications.
In Vadodara, Gujarat, a 32-year-old man, who was hospitalised for Covid-19 on May 10 at Sterling Hospital.
Since he was unable to breathe he is on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) support. He and his wife have been married for over eight months. They were based in Canada. They returned to India in March 2021, after the man’s father had a serious heart ailment. The doctor informed his wife that her husband would not live for more than 24 hours. His organs were failing and he had pneumonia as well. The wife was devastated. She wanted to start a family with her husband but was informed that he would anytime. She then asked the doctors to extract her husband's sperm so that she can get pregnant through IVF.
However, the doctor said that since they can not extract the sperm without the husband’s permission. If she still wanted to extract the sperm then she would have to get the court’s permission. The wife then filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court and requested an urgent hearing. The Court said since this is a very extraordinary situation, they have given permission and have told the hospital to collect the sperm. The hospital collected the sperm and stored it safely. The wife can use the sperm for IVF treatment when she wishes.
