The 60-year-old woman's daughter froze her eggs before she died in 2011
Woman wants to use the frozen eggs to give birth to her own grandchild
Daughter had them frozen after being diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 23
Mother's case dismissed at High Court but she can now challenge decision
http://dollars-vedioonline.blogspot.com/2016/02/woman-60-who-wants-to-use-her-dead.html
A woman who wants to use her dead daughter's frozen eggs to give birth to her own grandchild has persuaded judges at the Court of Appeal in London to allow her to continue her legal fight.
The 60-year-old, whose daughter died of cancer, lost an action at the High Court last year after challenging an independent regulator's refusal to let them export the eggs from London to a US fertility clinic. The case is believed to be the first of its kind.
Two Court of Appeal judges were asked at a recent hearing to grant permission to the woman and her 59-year-old husband to challenge the June decision of Mr Justice Ouseley to dismiss their case.
Lord Justice Treacy and Lord Justice Floyd ruled today that the couple should have permission.
Victory: A woman who wants to use her dead daughter's frozen eggs to give birth to her own grandchild has persuaded judges at the Court of Appeal in London to allow her to continue her legal battle
Lord Justice Treacy had previously acknowledged that it was a 'very sad case'.
The mother attended the brief proceedings earlier this month and said afterwards that she was 'hopeful' the court would give permission to appeal. She said she was 55 when the legal process started.
During the High Court proceedings last year, Mr Justice Ouseley was told that the daughter, who can only be referred to as 'A' for legal reasons, was desperate to have children and asked her mother to 'carry my babies'.
Her parents, who are referred to as 'Mr and Mrs M', challenged an independent regulator’s refusal to allow them to take the eggs of their 'much-loved and only child' to a US fertility treatment clinic to be used with donor sperm.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said the eggs could not be released from storage in London because A did not give her full written consent before she died at the age of 28 in June 2011.
Mr Justice Ouseley heard that A would have been 'devastated' if she had known her eggs could not be used.
The daughter, 'A', had her eggs frozen after being diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 23.
Lord Justice Treacy and Lord Justice Floyd today ruled at the Court of Appeal in London (pictured) that the woman and her 59-year-old husband should have permission to challenge a decision to dismiss their case
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO FREEZE YOUR EGGS?
The use of frozen eggs is a relatively new development.
Very few babies have been born in the UK after treatment, using a patients' own frozen eggs - though more have been born from donor eggs. To help boost egg production, fertility drugs are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce follicles, which contain the eggs.
The developing follicles are monitored and when they are large enough, they are carefully emptied to collect the eggs they have produced. They are collected while a patient is under sedation or general anaesthetic.
Women often choose to freeze their eggs if they are undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, which can affect fertility. Concerns over fertility declining with age, is also a reason women choose the procedure.
Before a woman's eggs can be frozen, a series of steps have to be taken:
A clinician will explain the process, including the risks. The clinic should also give the option of speaking to a counsellor;
you will be screened for infectious diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B and C;
you will need to give written consent for your eggs to be stored;
eggs are collected in the same way as for conventional IVF;
the freezing solution, cryoprotectant is added to protect the eggs when they are frozen;
the eggs are frozen, either by being cooled slowly or by vitrification, fast freezing, and then stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen.
Her parents say she asked her mother to 'carry my babies' once she knew she had no hope of surviving the illness.
Mrs M said her daughter had told her: 'I didn't go through IVF to save my eggs for nothing.
'I want you and Dad to bring them up, they will be safe with you.'
Mrs M's statement added: 'She was clear that she wanted her genes to be carried forward after her death.
'She had suffered terribly, and this was the one constant in her remaining years from which she never wavered.'
But the judge ruled that the HFEA had been entitled to find the daughter had not given 'the required consent'. He declared there had been no breach of the family’s human rights.
He said: 'I must dismiss this claim, though I do so conscious of the additional distress which this will bring to the claimants, whose aim has been to honour their daughter’s dying wish for something of her to live on after her untimely death.'
It was thought that if the case had been won, Mrs M could have become the first woman in the world to become pregnant using a dead daughter’s eggs.
Jenni Richards QC, for the parents, argued before the appeal judges that there was 'clear evidence' of what A wanted to happen to her eggs after she died.
She submitted that 'all available evidence' showed A wanted her mother 'to have her child after death'.
Granting permission, Lord Justice Treacy said that on reading the papers in the case he had been 'doubtful whether the appellants would be able to establish a sufficiently strong case so as to enable this matter to go forward'.
But he added: 'However, we have had the benefit of clear and persuasive submissions from Ms Jenni Richards QC which have led me to change my mind and to conclude that there is an arguable case with a real prospect of success.'
Lord Justice Floyd said his initial reaction was to refuse permission, but he too was 'persuaded by the oral advocacy of Ms Richards that her arguments deserve the attention of the full court'.
The case will now be aired at a full hearing on a date to be fixed.
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