Rights in relation to gametes
25 Rights in relation to gametes
In relation to any rights in, or power to deal with or dispose of, human gametes —
in respect of both human eggs and human sperm, all rights remain vested in the respective gamete providers, unless and until otherwise dealt with, as though personal property subject to section 53Q; and
where human gametes are donated with effective consent to a licensee, all rights in those gametes vest in the licensee subject to the limitation that, in accordance with that consent, the gametes may be used —
for the purpose of initiating an in vitro fertilisation procedure intended to develop a human egg undergoing fertilisation or a human embryo for implantation into a recipient named in, or to be selected in accordance with circumstances specified, in that consent; or
for artificial insemination purposes; or
in, or in connection with, an approved project of research; or
for the purposes of diagnostic procedures,
and not otherwise, but if the gametes are not so used they shall, subject to section 26(1)(c) and (d), be allowed to succumb; and
in respect to human gametes donated subject to a consent which is conditional and which are not used, if a condition to which the consent was made subject is not observed, the rights, subject to section 22(6) and any instructions to which effect can then be given, revert to the donor and in default vest in the CEO.
[Section 25 amended: No. 17 of 2004 s. 19; No. 18 of 2004 s. 6; No. 28 of 2006 s. 270(1).]
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