Who owns cryopreserved sperm?

The issue of sperm ownership sometimes comes up, and the setting in which this most typically comes up is, unfortunately, if the patient succumbs to their disease or the patient dies. The sperm, in most states, is regarded as being the property of the individual patient. There are provisions which can be achieved through the use of legal counsel, whereby sperm could then be passed on or ownership transferred to another party, and this is sometimes done. Obviously, if this is going to be done, certainly as a male reproductive health specialist, we’d recommend that the patient, on the front end, really make their wishes clearly known in this regard, and perhaps even consider discussing these very important issues with a counselor or other professional who is in tune with not only the legal issues, but also the psychological issues associated with such a big decision.