Posted on 10/06/2007 5:53:56 AM PDT by NYer
A man of 72 is to donate sperm to try to father his own 'grandchild'.
He has been cleared to provide the sperm to his daughter-in-law to allow her to become a mother.
Any baby born will be its grandfather's genetic child and a halfbrother or half-sister to the man it takes to be its father.
What do you think about the case? Join the debate
The case - believed to be the first of its kind in the UK - raises ethical questions about how well the child will cope with such unusual family circumstances.
The Harley Street doctors treating the couple, however, say that the child's interests were paramount when taking the decision.
The couple, whose identity is being kept secret, opted for donor sperm after IVF treatment with the husband's own failed.
They turned to the husband's father, rather than an anonymous donor, because they wanted a child as genetically similar to both families as possible.
Peter Bowen-Simpkins, codirector of the London Women's Clinic which is carrying out the procedure, said the couple and the grandfather had undergone extensive counselling.
"I've certainly never come across a case like this before," he said.
"But advancements in fertility treatment have overcome a lot of taboos in science which means that people are prepared to consider all sorts of options.
"Obviously, the wife's mother-inlaw also had to be included in all of the conversations but she has no objections.
"Society has also changed its perceptions of what is and what is not acceptable.
"In this case, keeping the genetic identity of the child similar to their own was a huge factor.
"The husband does not have a brother, which is why he chose his own father to assist."
Kamal Ahuja, the clinic's scientific director, said: "We spent many, many months deliberating this case and discussed it with our ethics committee and with counsellors and have come to the conclusion that they shouldn't have been denied treatment."
It is not known if the couple, who are in their thirties, intend to tell the child about its parentage.
The child will be able to track down its biological father on turning 18.
Critics cautioned that the child could face major identity issues.
Philippa Taylor, of Care, a Christian charity, said: "The reproductive whims of parents to do some deliberate and unnecessary social engineering should not be put before the welfare of the child.
"Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should."
A spokesman for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said donations from family members were legal and relatively common.
Preliminary tests at the clinic suggest that the 72-year-old's sperm is viable.
ewww.
Sperm from older men is more likely to have genetic defects.
I don’t see what the hoopla is about. Better than getting sperm off the street corner.
or the first time he Googles himself.
I recall a story many years ago which described how it was possible to harvest unfertilized eggs from an aborted fetus. At the time, ethicists raised the same question.
There are countless children in the world who need a home. This is an example of greed.
Not good. genetic inbreeding
Uhm, not it isn’t. Try reading before posting.
How is it genetic inbreeding? The old man is donating to his dauther-in-law. It is no more genetic inbreeding than if the husband was the sperm donor.
As far as the weirdness factor goes, I think it would be very weird just to know that you had been concieved by this process, and I don't think that knowing that the donor was some stranger would make it much less weird than knowing that the donor was grandpa.
Still, I agree that the couple should adopt instead, there are so many children out there needing adoption, why push the limits. But its their choice not mine.
Yeah. I hate it when those sperm donors mob our car at freeway exits.
This is not genetic inbreeding. The woman’s father-in-law is not the mother’s blood relative. As for what the child will suffer, think of all the “natural-mother/natural-father” dysfunctional families there are right now.
LOL!
I read it. Okay, it’s just too weird for me.
Yeah I understand. The whole thing is strange. It’s more fun to make babies the old fashion way, but not with grandparents.
embryos are screened prior to implantation when in vitro is used. This issue will not be relevent, because if there is something genetically wrong with the embryo it will be discarded and not implanted. This is why I don’t agree with the in vitro process.
It’s not far off from the Old Testament command for a man to marry his brother’s childless widow and raise up children for him - a sort of regrafting. And it makes sense from a material, evolutionary point of view. A son would carry the Y chromosome - the only guaranteed genetic inheritance through the generations is the Y chromosome in the male line, or the mitochondrial DNA in the maternal line.
Not that they are guaranteed a son. Not that it is right, or un-icky. But it makes a lot of sense.
Mrs VS
I don’t think “fun” was in any way the issue — or choice — here. This is obviously a woman who wants her husband’s baby and cannot have it. She’s chosen the closest thing — genetically — without inbreeding and without adultery and surely without “fun.”
I quess I’m too old. I don’t agree with this. It’s ok with cows, but not people.
That was my first thought.
Those little tadpoles don’t move so fast and the genes deteriorate.
Right there is the FIRST problem with this story....
I am reminded of the song “I Am My Own Grandpa”.
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