Having attended last week's PET event about what happens if people who have sperm, eggs or embryos in storage separate from their partner, or if they die, Jessica Hamzelou, a senior reporter at MIT Technology Review, published an article summarising the event.
'Till Death Do Us Part: Embryos and Gametes after Death, Divorce or Separation' was the title of the event held by PET, with speakers including, Robert Gilmour, a family law specialist, Professor Abha Maheshwari, clinical lead in reproductive medicine at Aberdeen Fertility, and James Lawford Davies, a solicitor specialising in reproductive and genetic technologies.
Hamzelou explains why she feels it is important to tell partners or parents whether you'd want your eggs, sperm or embryos to be used after you've died. We now have the technology to use sperm, and potentially eggs, from dead people to make embryos, and eventually babies. Furthermore, there are millions of sperm, eggs and embryos in storage and ready to be used.
Someone who might be trying for a baby with their partner may store their gametes or embryos and sign a form stating that they are happy for their partner to use these cells if they die. Yet, in other cases it isn't always clear whether a deceased person really did want to have children after they had died.
Dr Antony Starza-Allen, a volunteer writer for PET, has written a comment article after attending the event himself, (see BioNews 1169).