Procreation after death or mental incompetence: medical advance or technology gone awry?
OBJECTIVE
To review our experience with semen retrieval in men who are incompetent or dead and to formulate general medical, legal, and ethical guidelines for practitioners.


METHODS
Case series and literature review.


METHODS
Academic.


METHODS
Seven incompetent or neurologically dead individuals in whom sperm retrieval was requested.


METHODS
Electroejaculation.


RESULTS
Seminal emission was induced in the two men who underwent electroejaculation. Sperm suitable for cryopreservation was obtained in one of these men. Review of the legal and ethical implications of such procedures led to development of general guidelines for determining whether gamete retrieval should be performed when requested. Issues of procreational autonomy, consideration of the decedent's wishes, and assurance of the well-being of any new life created were considered most strongly in the formation of these guidelines.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the retrieval of sperm from deceased or incompetent individuals may be achieved readily, it is incumbent upon the practitioner to consider the legal and moral implications of these procedures before proceeding.
Ohl
D A
DA
Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, USA. DANA.OHL@UMICH.EDU
Park
J
J
Cohen
C
C
Goodman
K
K
Menge
A C
AC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001927:Brain Diseases; D003643:Death; D004542:Ejaculation; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency; D028681:Moral Obligations; D037022:Posthumous Conception; D012098:Reproduction; D013094:Spermatozoa