Widower in dilemma over frozen embryos

A UK man wants to donate several frozen embryos, produced in vitro shortly before his wife's death nearly five years ago, to another infertile couple. The man and his 37 year-old wife underwent fertility treatment at the Hammersmith Hospital, London in 1995. The resulting embryos were frozen and stored, but under UK law, they must be destroyed if not used by January 2001.

After his wife's death, the widower initially hoped to start a family with the help of a surrogate mother, but failed to find anyone suitable. To comply with his wife's wish that the embryos should not be wasted, he now wants to donate them to another childless couple. However, guidelines issued by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) state that a woman donor should be under 35, and should have had an HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) test no less than six months after the embryos were created.

The Hammersmith Hospital is not willing to use the embryos in the treatment of another couple, but the Bridge Fertility Clinic in London may now take up the man's case. Director Gedis Grudzinskas acknowledged that doctors would have to be careful about which patients were offered posthumous treatment, but added that they had plenty of couples wanting to adopt embryos. The clinic has also obtained an HIV-negative blood sample from the woman, taken before she died.

A spokesman for the HFEA said: 'We have to apply the guidelines but we will look at it if the [Bridge] clinic applies to the licensing committee for an opinion'.