Case of Cork woman refused access to her dead husband's sperm raised in Seanad

Macroom woman Melanie Dineen has been informed she cannot proceed with IVF using her late husband's sperm. Picture Dan Linehan

“Highly sensitive and complex factors” would need to be fully resolved before a decision could be made on whether the State should fund the posthumous use of spouse’s eggs or sperm in assisted human reproduction, according to a junior minister.

Minister of state Marian Harkin was responding in the Seanad to a question posed in the case of Macroom woman Melanie Dineen, whose late husband Dylan Fleming had given written consent for her to use his frozen sperm to conceive their child after his death.

However, Ms Dineen has been informed she cannot proceed with IVF through the public system using the frozen samples, because there is no protocol in place to cover such a scenario.

Sinn Féin senator Nicole Ryan raised the case in the Seanad, describing it as “heartbreaking and unjust”.

Ms Harkin said she could not talk about individual cases.

But she said: “There are potentially highly sensitive and complex factors which arise here and these would need to be fully teased out, resolved and a firm decision agreed upon before it is decided whether, notwithstanding what is permitted in the relevant legislation, the State should fund this very distinct form of AHR treatment."

Ms Harkin said health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill was focused "through the full implementation of the model of care for fertility, on ensuring that patients receive care at the appropriate level of clinical intervention and then those requiring, and eligible for, advanced AHR treatment such as IVF will be able to access same through the public health system". 

She said Ms Carroll MacNeill was “eager to see” how the scheme could be grown either through widening criteria or the range of services available.

“The minister hopes to be in a position to announce a clear plan of action in this regard in the coming weeks.”