Kerala HC grants woman’s plea to preserve brain death husband’s gametes

Kochi: High court has granted permission to cryopreserve the gametes of a Kannur native who is in a state of brain death and is currently being kept alive on ventilator support, in a petition filed by his wife.The bench of Justice M B Snehalatha issued the interim order after noting the petitioner's submission that it was impossible to obtain the written consent of her husband and that any further delay could cause irreparable hardship in view of his health condition and the diminishing possibility of preserving his gametes for future paternity. The court further directed that, apart from the extraction and preservation of the gametes, no further procedure under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 shall be carried out without the court's permission. The matter has been posted for further hearing on April 7.The husband of the 43-year-old petitioner is suffering from extensive cerebral venous thrombosis following chickenpox contracted two weeks earlier, which has now resulted in brain death. The petitioner sought permission to extract and cryopreserve her husband's gametes for future use in assisted reproductive technology services. As he is currently unable to provide consent due to his medical condition, the requirement of consent contemplated under Section 22 of the Act could not be fulfilled.Two years ago, another bench of the high court had considered a similar case in which a 34-year-old woman approached court seeking permission to cryopreserve the gametes of her husband, who had sustained critical injuries in a motorcycle accident in Ernakulam on Aug 4, 2024, and was undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Kochi in a deteriorating condition. In that case as well, the court granted permission to preserve the man's gametes. The matter has been pending before the court since Jan 2025.