CAN IN VITRO FERTILIZATION BE PRACTISED TO CONCEIVE?
Question:
My husband and I have been trying for a long time to have another child. I am trying to undergo treatment in order to regain my fertility. If this fails, the next step, if we wish to take it, is In vitro fertilization (IVF) i.e. fertilization will take place outside the body and the embryo implanted. I want to know if IVF is legal Islamically?
Answer:
The husband should allow the wife some time to undergo treatment to make her fertile and they thereafter may try conceiving in the natural way. In the event of them not being able to conceive in the natural way, it will be permissible for them to undergo IVF. However, the condition here is that only the husband’s sperm and the wife’s egg can be used. The involvement of a third person as a donor of either sperm or egg is not permissible. Similarly, it will not be permissible to hire or use the womb of a third person. (Surrogacy)
And Allah knows best
Suhail Tarmahomed (Mufti)
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN) Fatwa Department
My husband and I have been trying for a long time to have another child. I am trying to undergo treatment in order to regain my fertility. If this fails, the next step, if we wish to take it, is In vitro fertilization (IVF) i.e. fertilization will take place outside the body and the embryo implanted. I want to know if IVF is legal Islamically?
Answer:
The husband should allow the wife some time to undergo treatment to make her fertile and they thereafter may try conceiving in the natural way. In the event of them not being able to conceive in the natural way, it will be permissible for them to undergo IVF. However, the condition here is that only the husband’s sperm and the wife’s egg can be used. The involvement of a third person as a donor of either sperm or egg is not permissible. Similarly, it will not be permissible to hire or use the womb of a third person. (Surrogacy)
And Allah knows best
Suhail Tarmahomed (Mufti)
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN) Fatwa Department