{"id":3675,"date":"2020-01-21T20:49:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T19:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/?p=3675"},"modified":"2020-01-21T20:56:32","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T19:56:32","slug":"after-death-let-men-donate-sperm-to-infertile-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2020\/01\/21\/after-death-let-men-donate-sperm-to-infertile-people\/","title":{"rendered":"After death let men donate sperm to infertile people"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Nathan Hodson<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Joshua Parker<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Of all the revolutionary advances provided by artificial reproductive techniques, few would have imagined that it would allow men to have their sperm removed after death and used to successfully produce offspring. Yet\u00a0recent cases<\/a>\u00a0show that it is possible and apparently safe. In these cases it is the loved ones of the man who has died who have been able to use his sperm \u2013 but what if other people could benefit too? Post-mortem sperm donation could facilitate this.\u00a0 We decided to explore this possibility in our paper:\u00a0The ethical case for non-directed post-mortem sperm donation.\u00a0<\/em>Yes, it is technically possible for a man\u2019s sperm to be extracted after his death and made available to strangers seeking sperm donors,\u00a0<\/em>but would it be\u00a0ethical?<\/em><\/p>\n

There is a\u00a0shortage of donor sperm<\/a>\u00a0in the UK. Various explanations for this exist and attempts have been made to increase donations from living men, however\u00a0the gap remains<\/a>\u00a0and may be worsening. But even if there was surplus donor sperm, the need goes beyond quantity: people using donor sperm also desire donors with certain characteristics, and this is often\u00a0particularly important to people from minority groups<\/a>. The use of sperm donated after death has the potential to help those wishing to access donor sperm by increasing both the quantity and diversity of the sperm donor pool. Having a donor who has died might even be an advantage if you require donor sperm, something that is currently unaccommodated.<\/p>\n

There are a number of\u00a0downsides to donating sperm in life<\/a>: it is intrusive, time consuming and carries future uncertainty. Yet donated sperm can do a lot of good and men who aim to help others may be torn between these downsides and their\u00a0altruistic desires<\/a>. In the cost-benefit analysis performed by men deciding whether to donate sperm in life, most judge the burdens too great. Yet, they still, we suspect, would like to help those in need if possible. And so we believe that men would find the prospect of being able to donate sperm after death acceptable and perhaps desirable. Indeed, many people want their tissues to benefit others when they\u2019re no longer of use to them, like after death. Having the opportunity to donate sperm after death allows men to fulfil their altruistic desires without having to navigate the demands of living donation.<\/p>\n

In the paper, we weren\u2019t trying to outline and defend a specific policy but to explore in broad strokes whether a system of voluntary sperm donation after death could be ethical. Safeguards would be needed whatever the system, some of which could be adapted from existing polices for tissue and organ donation. Moreover, it is important to explore the wider implications of this for any future child, the donor\u2019s family and society generally. In our paper, we argued that none of these provide an insurmountable challenge to the idea of consensual non-directive post-mortem sperm donation.<\/p>\n

Post-mortem sperm donation has the unique combination of involving both the death of the donor and donation of reproductive material. However, this means it also shares elements with other kinds of donation and as such might shed new light on these discussions, like family veto and donor anonymity. Beyond its theoretical implications for on-going debates sperm donation after death may also have practical implications for sperm donation and access to donor sperm, for example sperm sharing arrangements.<\/p>\n

As it remains the case that people experiencing unwanted sub-fertility rely on cells donated by others to reproduce, there will be a need to think creatively about how to ensure enough supply to meet demand. This is especially true of eggs, though the technology does not (yet) exist to facilitate donation after death for use in ARTs. Whilst a system of \u2018altruistic\u2019 post-mortem sperm donation may take some years to develop the ethical arguments presented in our paper suggest that the prospect has implications both for policy regarding the bodies of dead men and for the way we understand reproductive donation.<\/p>\n

Paper title:<\/strong> The ethical case for non-directed post-mortem sperm donation<\/a> [FREE]<\/em><\/p>\n

Authors:<\/strong> Nathan Hodson1<\/sup> and Joshua Parker2<\/sup><\/p>\n

Affiliations:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
    College of Life Sciences<\/span>,\u00a0University of Leicester<\/span>,\u00a0Leicester<\/span>, United Kingdom<\/address>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n
    Department of Education and Research<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Wythenshawe Hospital<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Manchester<\/span>, UK<\/span><\/address>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Competing interests:<\/strong> None<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By\u00a0Nathan Hodson\u00a0and\u00a0Joshua Parker Of all the revolutionary advances provided by artificial reproductive techniques, few would have imagined that it would allow men to have their sperm removed after death and used to successfully produce offspring. Yet\u00a0recent cases\u00a0show that it is possible and apparently safe. In these cases it is the loved ones of the man […]<\/p>\n

    Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7988,2022],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regulation-and-regulators","category-reproduction"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter death let men donate sperm to infertile people - Journal of Medical Ethics blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2020\/01\/21\/after-death-let-men-donate-sperm-to-infertile-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After death let men donate sperm to infertile people - Journal of Medical Ethics blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By\u00a0Nathan Hodson\u00a0and\u00a0Joshua Parker Of all the revolutionary advances provided by artificial reproductive techniques, few would have imagined that it would allow men to have their sperm removed after death and used to successfully produce offspring. 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