Future frozen

Several single and married Gujaratis are now opting for cryopreservation of sperm and eggs

- NANDINI OZA

EARLY THIS YEAR, Covid-19 infections peaked in Gujarat, causing hundreds of deaths. Amid headlines about the shortage of ventilators, oxygen cylinders, and hospital beds, one story stood out—a 29-year-old Vadodara woman’s plea in the Gujarat High Court to allow her to bank her husband’s sperm. He was critically ill with Covid-19. Her lawyer, Nilay Patel, told THE WEEK that the petition was filed as it was her right to have a child from her husband. The court granted permission, and doctors managed to collect and bank the sperm just hours before his death.

Around the same time, a similar story surfaced. Hely Aerke, 36, wanted a child from her late husband. The Vadodara-based accountant and Sanjay were married in 2014. The couple had opted for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and the frozen embryos were kept at Dr. Nayana Patel’s Akanksha Hospital and Research Institute in Anand. Covid-19 hit the couple with a double whammy—it delayed the IVF procedure and, sadly, claimed Sanjay on April 23.

After Sanjay’s death, Aerke tried IVF but failed to get pregnant. Now she is considering surrogacy. “It is an ultimate feeling when a child calls you mother,” she said, overcome by emotions. She added that she was capable of raising the child as a single mother.