The mum who wants to give birth to her own grandchild

Fight for tragic daughter’s frozen eggs

A MOTHER will go to court today to fight for the right to become pregnant with her own grandchild using her dead daughter’s frozen eggs.

The woman, 59, and her husband, 58, claim it was their daughter’s dying wish that she should carry the child.

She had her eggs frozen after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in the hope she could have children after treatment. But she lost her battle for life four years ago, while in her mid-20s.

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the world, the woman wants her daughter’s eggs fertilised by donor sperm and implanted into her womb. So far, clinics in the UK have refused to treat the mother.

A clinic in New York has agreed to carry out the procedure, at an estimated cost of £60,000, but the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has refused the couple’s application to export their daughter’s frozen eggs to the US, on the grounds that she did not give clear written consent.

The parents are now challenging the ruling in the High Court. If successful, the woman would be the first in the world to give birth to a baby using eggs from her dead daughter, experts believe.

But because of her age, her chances of becoming pregnant using the eggs are small. Women who have gone through the menopause are still able to bear children using donor eggs and sperm.

However, obstetricians say the risks associated with pregnancy, such as miscarriage, are greater.

Politicians and campaigners have also questioned the ethics of bringing a baby into the world long after their biological mother has died.

But the mother says she is determined to honour her daughter’s wishes. The daughter, who was single, was diagnosed with cancer at 23 and chose to freeze and store three of her eggs at IVF Hammersmith in West London in 2008.

Her mother claims her daughter asked her to carry her baby. But the HFEA’s statutory approvals committee refused the mother per

‘Strongest and only evidence’

mission to take the eggs abroad, saying there was insufficient evidence that the daughter wanted her mother to use donor sperm to carry her child.

The committee argued there was no clear, written consent and it was entitled to use its discretion to refuse to issue a special direction, without which it would be unlawful to export the eggs.

The daughter had completed a form which gave consent for the eggs to be stored for use after her death but, crucially, failed to fill in a separate form indicating how she wished the eggs to be used. This meant her consent became invalid.

She died in 2011 without leaving further instructions. The HFEA said the ‘strongest and only evidence’ of her wishes was a reported conversation with her mother while she was in hospital in 2010.

She is said to have asked an unnamed doctor whether she could still carry a child if she recovered. The doctor confirmed it was possible. But, the mother says, it was then agreed that if her daughter could not carry a child ‘I would do it for her’. After their daughter died, the couple hoped to create embryos using standard IVF treatment from their daughter’s eggs and sperm from an anonymous donor. However, no UK clinics were prepared to carry out the process.

Generally, clinics will not treat women over 50 because of the limited chances of success and the extra risks. The application for permission to export the sperm was made to the HFEA by IVF Hammersmith, which is based within Hammersmith Hospital in West London and is storing the eggs.

The case is due to be heard by Mr Justice Ouseley today. The family wishes to remain anonymous.