Posthumous sperm retrieval

Posthumous sperm retrieval (PSR) is a procedure in which spermatozoa are collected from the testes of a human corpse after brain death.

While religious objections have been made even under these circumstances, far more censure has arisen regarding invasive retrieval from fresh cadavers or patients either on life support or in a persistent vegetative state, particularly when the procedure is carried out without explicit consent from the donor.

[1] Gametes have been extracted through a variety of means, including removal of the epididymis, irrigation or aspiration of the vas deferens, and rectal probe electroejaculation.

Following the 1984 Parpalaix case in France, in which the widow of deceased cancer patient Alain Parpalaix obtained permission from the courts to be inseminated with her husband's spermatozoa after his death, the Centre d’Etude et de Conservation du Sperme Humain (Center for the Study and Preservation of Human Sperm) petitioned the courts successfully for a full ban on posthumous insemination,[6] in line with the country's ban on in vitro fertilisation for post-menopausal women.

[6] Guidelines outlining the legal use of posthumously extracted gametes in the United Kingdom were laid out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.

In 2003, Israeli Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein published several guidelines outlining the legal situation of posthumous sperm retrieval for the purpose of later insemination by a surviving female partner.

If it could be demonstrated that the deceased took definite steps towards parenthood (implied consent), use of extracted sperm by the female partner would generally be permitted.

[10] Many other countries, including Belgium and the United States,[6] have no specific legislation regarding the rights of people on gamete donation following their death, leaving the decision in the hands of individual clinics and hospitals.

For this reason, several countries, including Israel and the United Kingdom, impose a maximum term for the use of extracted sperm, after which the father will not be legally recognised on the child's birth certificate.