Court of Appeal Allows Grandparents Right to Use Deceased Daughters Eggs

26/07/2016

The Court of Appeal has given the parents of a young woman who died of cancer the right to use her eggs to conceive a grandchild.

The parents had argued that their daughter, who died in her 20s, had frozen her eggs at a fertility clinic and had wanted her mother to carry and care for her ‘babies on ice’. Despite her request, after she died, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) refused permission for the eggs to be exported for treatment.

The Court of Appeal upheld the parents’ challenge, stating that it was clear this was what the daughter had wanted. In light of the ruling the HFEA will now have to reconsider its decision.

“This is a ground breaking case”, said Rebecca Muirhead, a solicitor in Russell & Russell’s family law department. “It could well pave the way for a raft of legal challenges in situations where a person has passed away, leaving their eggs or sperm in storage.

“This ruling has set the precedent that consent is king. It’s no longer down to individuals or organisations to make decisions on behalf of people who are no longer with us. Instead, quite rightly, it’s the person who’s eggs or sperm are stored who ultimately gets to decide what happens to them.”