GUJARAT HC DIRECTED A HOSPITAL TO COLLECT SPERM OF A COVID 19 PATIENT ON WIFE'S REQUEST

In a significant decision, Recently, the Gujarat HC directed a Vadodara Hospital to conduct an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedure for collecting sperm samples from a critical Covid 19 patient after his wife expressed her desire to give birth to a child.

The bench of Justice Ashutosh J Shastri permitted the petition in view of extraordinary circumstances. The Court asked the lawyer to communicate the same to the hospital.

The wife wanted to conceive a child of her husband, but he was not in a position to give consent. Her husband was admitted to the Critical Care Unit in a Vadodara Hospital on 10th May 2021, and that his condition was worsening day by day. It was also said that her husband is on ECMO as his lungs are unable to function and had a history of multi-organ failure. 

The wife wanted to go through ART/IVF, but the hospital officials denied the storage of sperm as there was no written consent of the husband, and thus the Hospital administration sought Court's order. The Court passed the interim relief in an extraordinary urgent situation.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal