Deceased Ukrainian soldiers' sperm does not have to be destroyed, and can be used by their partners posthumously, a legal amendment passed by Ukrainian MPs has confirmed.
Last year in November 2023 the Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, adopted a law to publicly finance gamete freezing for male and female soldiers fighting in the conflict against Russia. However, this law mandated the destruction of stored gametes in the event of a soldiers' death, from March 2024. Following public outcry, an amendment was voted on by MPs on 7 February 2024 to prevent the destruction of stored gametes and mandate state funding for the freezing of gametes for up to three years after a soldier's death.
Authors of the amendments wrote the changes would help 'preserve the gene pool of the Ukrainian people, which is particularly urgent amid continuing Russian aggression', said NDTV world.
The approved amendments also include a call for revisions to the Civil Code and Family Code within three months, to recognise powers of attorney regarding stored gametes after the individuals' death, and to allow children conceived posthumously to have inheritance rights.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine occurred in February 2024 many fertility clinics in the country, which had previously catered mainly to foreign patients, started to offer free sperm freezing and discounted fertility treatment to soldiers and their partners. It was announced in 2023 that the ministry of health in Russia would fund the storage of sperm of soldiers fighting in the war (see BioNews 1173). Questions remained over its posthumous use and custody of resulting children, however.
The storage of sperm from soldiers and its use posthumously is a measure also being adopted in Israel, where the extraction of sperm from deceased soldiers is permitted. While a request for sperm collection by a soldier's parents, rather than widow, required a family court order in the country, this requirement has been suspended since the 7 October 2023 attack, Times of Israel reported.
Fertility of soldiers who survive the war could also be affected, experts said. 'Fifty percent of the injuries suffered by our soldiers on the front involve the reproductive organs. In addition to physical injuries, some traumas affect infertility. There is also stress, tension, hypothermia and disturbed eating.' said Professor Stephan Khmil, gynaecologist at the Medical University of Gorbachev, Ternopil, Ukraine, reported New Eastern European.
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