Kerala couple's surrogacy battle to get grandchild from dead son

Ernakulam: In a step towards realizing an elderly couple's dream to beget a grandchild, a Lok Adalat in Kochi on February 29 allowed them to collect the semen of their 27-year-old son who had died last year.

Their only son Ratheesh, who was studying for sound engineering in an institute at Chennai, was diagnosed with tumour in his left testicle last year. Ratheesh died on January 5 this year. The sperm has been preserved at the Centre for Infertility Management and Assisted Reproduction hospital at Cheranalloor.

After winning the legal battle to get their son's semen, the couple Ravikumar (59) and Karthiyani (58) now hopes to have a surrogate grandchild through Assisted Reproductive Technology.

"We will give the child the same love and care that we gave our only son," says Karthiyani.

Clearing the way for the couple to get access to the semen, the court had also ruled that the hospital would not be responsible or liable for any complication--medically or legally arising out of the use of the sample.

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Shedding light on the procedure, Dr Sheela C Babu, a senior consultant Gynecologist at Govt General Hospital in Ernakulam says, "In in-vitro fertilisation, what we do is we get the sperm and the egg frozen and then it is fertilised in a testtube. There are no medical complications and the children born from this method do not have any problems associated with it."

The court has given them three months' time to complete the formalities and receive the semen. Although the couple has arranged for a donor - a distant relative who will provide with the egg - they still have to arrange for the hefty fees the procedure is going to cost them. The procedure costs around 10 to 30 lakh rupees.

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With liabilities of more than five lakh rupees - most of it being loans taken for their son's education - Mr Ravikumar, a mechanic, and Ms Karthiyani, a sweeper at a private hospital, might face some difficulties procuring the amount.  

"We cannot afford that much money. So we are thinking of selling off this house and land that we have," says Ravikumar.

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Having won one battle, the couple still has some hurdles to cross before they are able to get a grandchild from their dead son's semen.