'They Don't Want 'Vicky Donor' Situation' : Supreme Court To Examine Validity Of Restriction On Sperm Donors To Not Donate To More Than One Couple

The Supreme Court on Monday (16.10.2023), issued notice to the Centre in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed challenging certain provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulations) Act of 2021 and the Rules of the Assisted Technology (Regulations) Rules, 2022.

Under the Act, a gamete bank cannot supply the sperm or oocyte of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple. The PIL contends that provisions of the new Act and Rules will lead to a scarcity of donor semen samples, which will result in escalation in cost for treatment making assisted reproductive techniques unaffordable for common people.

The PIL also points out that before Act came into force, the price per cycle of treatment was close to Rs. 3000/-, but with the new provisions it is predicted to escalate up to 20 to 50 times since one donor can donate only to one couple.

A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to the Centre in the PIL.

“They don’t want it (sperm donation) to become a trade, that’s the reason”, Justice Nagarathna remarked during the hearing. “Remember that movie Vicky Donor? They don’t want that kind of situation”, Justice Nagarathna said in a lighter vein. “If this is not struck down, then Vicky Donor becomes illegal,” the Counsel for the petitioner told the Court.

The PIL contends that it is not logical to club oocyte (female egg) and sperm banking under the Act as both procedures require different skill sets. Sperm banking is a simple procedure and hence, economical while oocyte banking is a complex and invasive procedure and hence, requires a more elaborate setup and expertise, the petitioner contends. Under Section 27(3) of the Act and Rule 13(1)(a) of the Rules, a bank cannot supply the sperm or oocyte of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple. The PIL contends that this maybe logical with regard to oocytes but is devoid of any merit when it comes to sperm donation

The PIL also points that most countries permit for more than one couple or families to use a single donor sperm sample to start their family.

The PIL has been filed by the Indian Sperm- Bank Association, a registered company founded in 2015. Sections 27(3), 27(6) and 29 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 and Rules 13(1)(a), 13(2), 15 and 19 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Rules have been challenged by the petitioner on the ground that the said provisions are arbitrary and discriminatory in nature.

The Petitioner is represented by AOR Dhruv Tamta and Adv. Shalinder Bhatnagar.

Case Title: Indian Sperm- Bank Association V. Union Of India & Ors, WPC 1051/2023