UK - Wealthy Couple Harvested Dead Son’s Sperm for “Designer Grandson”

A couple in Britain lost their only son to a motorcycle crash leaving them devastated. With the tragic loss, they also lost their chance of becoming happy, doting grandparents. So the couple decided to make what they have work for them: money to fulfill their dream of having an heir.

The wealthy couple financed the process for harvesting sperm from their 26-year-old dead son and using it to create a “designer grandson.” It is likely the first case of its kind in Britain.

The pair, in their 50s, were that desperate for an heir. Their dead son’s sperm was frozen then exported to the U.S., in effect bypassing strict laws in the UK.

The wealthy grandparents also chose to use gender selection techniques to create a grandchild, who was born by employing donor eggs and a surrogate mom.

The whole process cost up to a whopping $130,000 or more.

Top fertility specialist Dr. David Smotrich assisted the grandparents to fulfill their dream for a grandchild at his La Jolla IVF clinic in San Diego, California using techniques that are illegal in Britain.

There was the dilemma that the unmarried, dead son had not given formal consent to have his sperm harvested and used to create a child in case he dies. The 55-year-old Smotrich, however, denied any knowledge that any laws in the UK were bypassed and said it was even a “privilege” to be able to help the rich couple have their much-hoped for heir.

Dr. Smotrich also shared that the couple were very specific about the egg donor and surrogate they wanted to pick as they wanted someone who matched the kind of woman they believed their son would have married and had children with, anyway.

The mother of the dead son even called her dream project a “marriage of science and soul.”

The egg donor and surrogate came from the U.S. The couple also chose one from four embryos to be their soon-to-be grandchild. They were also present when their dream grandson was born.

It has been three years since then. The grandson is now a healthy 3-year-old kid living with his grandparents in Britain, oblivious to the facts of his case and how he came into existence. This itself highlights ethical and legal concerns.

Source:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/heartbroken-parents-harvest-dead-sons-13215814