There is perhaps nothing more tragic than parents having to see the death of their child, a child who was supposed to outlive them and have a family of their own; their life cut short by cruel circumstances.
Even though their son has passed away, one couple is still seeking to keep their family name going by using a sperm sample collected before his death, but it took a long time before the hospital let them.
A couple in India is "delighted" after winning a court battle with a hospital, forcing said hospital to hand over the frozen sperm samples of their dead son so they may have a surrogate carry their grandchild.
This fight has been ongoing for over four years, with the son, Preet Inder Singh, having passed away in September 2020 at 30 years old due to Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which he'd been diagnosed with earlier that year.
"Before he began chemotherapy, the hospital advised him to store his semen as the treatment could adversely affect the quality of his sperm," said Preet's father, Gurvinder Singh.
He agreed, and a sample was frozen in June 2020, just months before he passed. He was unmarried at the time of the collection and his passing.
A few months after his death, Preet's parents returned to the hospital asking for access to his frozen sperm so they could still attempt to have a grandchild via a surrogate. The hospital denied their request and kicked off many years of legal back and forth between themselves and the grieving family, for the parents petitioned the Delhi High Court to look into the situation.
They explained that they would be the ones raising the child, and in the event of their death, their two daughters have both agreed to become the child's guardians. Gurvinder and Preet's mother, Harbir Kaur, were 60 at the time of the initial lawsuit.
In the court order, Justice Prathiba Singh said that "under Indian law, there was no prohibition against posthumous reproduction" so long as the sperm donor had given consent before their passing.
She also said that because Preet wasn't married and didn't already have any children, his parents were entitled to the sample; they had become legal heirs under the Hindu Succession Act.
The couple said they brought this to court initially because they wanted to carry on their son's "legacy" and keep a connection with him while also helping their family lineage continue.
"He loved his sisters and was much loved by his friends. He is the screensaver on my phone. I start my day by looking at his face every morning," Harbir said.
Commercial surrogacy is illegal under Indian law, but Harbir said a relative had already volunteered to carry the child. "We will keep it in the family," she said.
Now, this is an extremely rare case, but it's not the first time it's happened. Justice Prathiba cited three other cases, from 2019, 2018, and 2002 in India, New York, and Israel, respectively, where parents were able to access their deceased sons' frozen sperm in order to have grandchildren via surrogacy.
"He was not married and did not have any partner. He intended for the sample to be used in order to bear a child. When he passed away, the parents being the heirs of the deceased, and semen samples being genetic material and constituting property, the parents are entitled for release of the same."
His parents are overjoyed at the ruling, saying it has given them a "glimmer of hope, a light" that "we will be able to bring our son back."
"We were very unlucky, we lost our son. But the court has given us a very precious gift. We would now be able to get our son back," said Harbir. "I have prayed every day to fulfill all my child's unfulfilled desires. It’s taken four years, but my prayers have been answered."
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