A woman who lost her husband to a brain tumour nearly two years ago is facing a High Court battle over the right to use his frozen sperm for IVF.
Jade and Daniel Payne were pursuing plans to start IVF when they received the tragic news that the brain tumour Daniel had been living with for more than a decade had progressed to a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Daniel underwent chemotherapy, but ultimately decided he did not want to continue with treatment. He died at home with Jade by his side on 23rd December 2019.
After mourning her husband, Jade decided she was ready to pursue IVF using Daniel’s frozen sperm to have a baby. Devastatingly, she was told that a technicality – the absence of her name on his original documentation – meant she would have to argue her case for lawful use in the High Court.
Jade said: “I do understand the legality of not having my name on the original document; it’s something Daniel thought he had taken care of but, even so, he and I have both signed documents since then and he was my husband so you’d think common sense would prevail.
“If the judge was to say no, it would be heart-breaking. I don’t know what I’d do, probably curl up into a ball, because, in effect, it would be like losing Daniel all over again.”
Sharing her story in the national media, including The Times, Daily Mail, The Sun and Daily Mirror, Jade added: “To have a ‘mini Daniel’ running around would mean the world to me.”
Hugh Adams, our Head of Stakeholder Relations, said: “At a time when Jade and Daniel should be planning their family together as husband and wife, Daniel has been taken away by this devastating disease leaving Jade to face the future alone. We will be thinking of Jade as we approach Christmas and the anniversary of Daniel’s death. This will be such a difficult time of year for her, as it is for many families affected by brain tumours.”