Six men with cancer, one of whom has since died, are suing a trust after their frozen sperm samples were destroyed accidentally.
All of the men were undergoing treatment for cancer, which was likely to leave them infertile, at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, and had stored their sperm in a freezer. But when the freezer broke down in 2003 it shattered all their hopes of fatherhood.
North Bristol NHS Trust admitted breach of duty, but a ruling in March this year dashed the men's chance of substantial compensation. At the time Judge Jeremy Griggs ruled the sperm samples were similar to hair cut off or toe nail clippings, so the claim of personal injury could not be allowed.
Now however, this ruling is being challenged. James Townsend, acting for the six men told the court: 'This is a grey area but, looked at correctly, we say this is a classic case of personal injury.' He said the comparison to hair and toe nails was 'not entirely apt' because sperm had been 'living and biologically active, albeit in a suspended state' at Southmead Hospital. He said sperm was 'living tissue' and was 'quite unlike the hair or toenail analogy'.
The trust says nobody owned the samples and they were not capable of being property in the legal sense, so the six men would have no right to a personal injury claim. The hearing is expected to last two days.
November 2008 | 
Measles On The Up
