In New Zealand, the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ACART) has announced that a public consultation is under way to assess terms and conditions for accessing posthumous reproduction in the event of the death of a relative.
The agency which is governed by the Ministry of Health and gives advice on assisted procreation, is examining current guidelines on posthumous reproduction. The aim is to help provide answers to issues that legislation does not currently address, namely, the retrieval and use of eggs from a deceased woman, the use of stored eggs, after the death of a woman, the retrieval of sperm from a deceased man, the retrieval and use of reproductive tissue from a deceased man or woman, the use of stored embryos after the death of one or both of the gamete donors and the recovery and use of sperm or eggs from a person who has become totally incapacitated and whose death is imminent.
This consultation must be completed before new directives are developed.
For further reading:
Reproductive technologies and embryo research have transformed gametes into marketable products
Australia: Brisbane Supreme Court gives young woman right to use dead boyfriend’s sperm
New Zealand Doctor (05/07/2018)