Kerala High Court: In a case dealing with a wife’s urgent request for extraction and cryopreservation of her brain-dead husband’s gametes without his written informed consent under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (ART Act) due to his medical condition, a Single Judge Bench of M.B. Snehalatha, J., while considering the risk of irreparable hardship, permitted the wife to extract brain-dead husband’s gametes for assisted reproduction, subject to the condition that no further Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedures would be undertaken without the Court’s permission.
The petitioner’s husband was undergoing treatment at the Respondent 5-Hospital as he was suffering from extensive cerebral venous thrombosis after two weeks of chicken pox, which had resulted in his brain death, with him being kept alive with ventilator support.
The petitioner submitted that she wished to extract and cryopreserve the gametes of her husband for future use to undergo ART services. However, due to his current medical condition, he was unable to grant a written informed consent as contemplated under Section 22 ART Act. She further contended that any delay would cause irreparable hardship in view of his health condition and the impending chance of paternity. It was also submitted that Respondent 5-hospital was duly licensed under the ART Act to undertake extraction and preservation of gametes.
The Court granted an interim relief, directing Respondent 5-Hospital to allow the extraction and cryopreservation of the gametes by availing the services of Respondent 6 or any other recognised ART clinic. The Court also clarified that other than the extraction and preservation of the gametes, no further procedure under the ART Act would be carried out without its permission.
The matter is posted for further hearing on 7 April 2026.
[X v. Union of India, WP(C) No. 9271 of 2026 (H), decided on 9-3-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioner: M/S. Sukarnan, Nesmel Divan, Akhil Vinayan and Saurav Shaji, Advocates.
For the Respondents: Deputy Solicitor General of India, Government Pleader.
