{"id":5215,"date":"2025-04-19T14:29:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T12:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/?p=5215"},"modified":"2025-07-03T16:39:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T14:39:16","slug":"lg-frankfurt-a-m-cryobank-must-release-sperm-for-post-mortem-fertilisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/ssp-news\/lg-frankfurt-a-m-kryobank-muss-sperma-zur-postmortalen-befruchtung-herausgeben\/","title":{"rendered":"Regional Court Frankfurt a.M.: Cryobank must release sperm for post-mortem fertilisation"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"l-section wpb_row height_small\"><div class=\"l-section-h i-cf\"><div class=\"g-cols vc_row via_grid cols_1 laptops-cols_inherit tablets-cols_inherit mobiles-cols_1 valign_top type_default stacking_default\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><p><strong>Background<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a recent decision dated 4 February 2025 (case no. 4 O 29\/25), the <strong>Regional Court Frankfurt am Main<\/strong> the obligation of a cryobank to <strong>Release of cryopreserved sperm<\/strong> on post-mortem artificial fertilisation. The decision is caught between the German Embryo Protection Act (ESchG) and European legal reality.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The case<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A married couple planned medically assisted fertilisation to fulfil their desire to have children. Due to the husband's cancer, sperm was cryopreserved in advance. After the husband's death, the wife - and sole heir in the will - demanded that the sperm be returned for use in a Spanish fertility clinic. In Spain, such use is permitted within one year of the donor's death.<\/p>\n<p>The cryobank refused to hand over the material, citing Section 4 para. 1 no. 3 ESchG, according to which the use of gametes after death is not permitted in Germany. In addition, the contract expressly provided for the destruction of the material after death.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The decision<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The regional court clarified: The <strong>Wife can assert a claim for restitution as heiress<\/strong>when a <strong>express or implied consent of the deceased<\/strong> for post-mortem use. The court considered the circumstances - in particular the wife's affidavit about their joint desire to have children - to be sufficient proof of implied consent.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>4 ESchG should, in the opinion of the court, primarily <strong>Right to self-determination<\/strong> The aim is to protect the parties involved, not to criminalise post-mortem use across the board. As the planned fertilisation abroad is legally permissible, the national threat of punishment does not stand in the way of disclosure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Significance for practice<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This decision deviates from the previously strict interpretation of the Munich Higher Regional Court, for example, and strengthens the <strong>Right to self-determination of couples who wish to have children<\/strong>. She makes it clear:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One <strong>express or implied consent<\/strong> is required - merely \"presumed\" consent is not sufficient.<\/li>\n<li>The planned use abroad can <strong>permissible<\/strong> even if it were not permitted in Germany.<\/li>\n<li>The scope of protection of the ESchG is <strong>not opened in every case<\/strong>especially if there is no criminal offence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The legal situation regarding the post-mortem use of gametes remains complex and highly dependent on the individual case. However, this decision shows that with clever legal planning and clear documentation of their shared desire to have children, couples can make provisions - even after death.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"l-section wpb_row height_small\"><div class=\"l-section-h i-cf\"><div class=\"g-cols vc_row via_grid cols_1 laptops-cols_inherit tablets-cols_inherit mobiles-cols_1 valign_top type_default stacking_default\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"w-message color_blue with_icon\"><div class=\"w-message-icon\"><i class=\"fas fa-lightbulb-exclamation\"><\/i><\/div><div class=\"w-message-body\"><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"\/en\/lawyers-2\/dr-marko-oldenburger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr Oldenburger<\/a><\/span> advises and represents individuals, different and same-sex couples on the path to fertility fulfilment, including surrogacy and international adoptions. Send him an e-mail at (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"mailto:oldenburger@schneiderstein.de\">oldenburger@schneiderstein.de<\/a><\/span>) or use our <a href=\"\/en\/contact-2\/mail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Contact form<\/span><\/a>.<br \/>\nBy the way: We offer country-specific package prices for surrogacy and international adoption procedures from A-Z (fixed prices) or modular fees depending on your service requirements. This means that your expenses can be calculated from the outset. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"\/en\/lawyers-2\/dr-marko-oldenburger\/#topthemen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Further information on the desire to have children here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Background In a recent decision dated 4 February 2025 (case no. 4 O 29\/25), the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main ruled that a cryobank is obliged to hand over cryopreserved sperm for post-mortem artificial insemination. The decision is in the area of conflict between the German Embryo Protection Act (ESchG) and European legal reality. The case A married couple planned to fulfil their desire to have children by...","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-unkategorisiert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anwaelte-schneider-stein.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}