Our son is dead, we want grandchildren with his sperm'

A Delhi court has ordered a Delhi hospital to hand over the sperm of a dead Indian youth to his parents. The couple wants to give birth to a grandson or granddaughter using the dead child's sperm,,,

After nearly four years of legal battle with the Delhi hospital, the couple won.

Hosbir Kaur, the mother of the dead youth, told the BBC, “We are unfortunate to have lost our son. But the court gave a priceless gift. Now we can get the child back.”

Ms Kaur and her husband Gurvinder Singh's deceased child Preet Inder Singh's sperm, which the Gangaram Hospital had preserved, the couple filed the case after they refused to hand over it to the family

The couple's 30-year-old son was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer in June 2020. He was admitted to Gangaram Hospital for treatment of the blood cancer called 'Non-Hodgking's Lymphoma'.

“Before starting the chemotherapy the hospital advised that his sperm quality might deteriorate once the treatment started. That's why sperm storage was called for," Guruvinder Singh told the BBC.

Single Preet Inder Singh accepted the hospital's advice and had his sperm collected and frozen on June 27, 2020. Preet Inder Singh died in September.

A few months later, his parents asked the hospital to return their son's sperm. But the hospital did not respond to their request. After that, the couple appealed to the Delhi High Court.

They told the court that the couple would be responsible for raising the newborn using their son's sperm. The two daughters of the couple submitted a written commitment to the court that they will take all the responsibility of the grandson or granddaughter if they die