After Losing Son To Cancer, Pune Couple Gets Twin Grandkids Using His Preserved Semen

The void left by the death of a family member is unavoidable. No matter how much time you have to prepare yourself for the worst, you are never really ready to say goodbye. There is always a part of you that wishes you can hold on to something to make them stay longer, or to preserve their legacy and memories.

That is exactly what a Pune woman did after she lost her son to cancer two years ago.

Rajashree Patil, a 49-year-old teacher, used her deceased son, Prathamesh’s cryopreserved semen to have grandkids using IVF and surrogacy. A pair of healthy twins were born to the surrogate who happens to an aunt of the deceased son.

According to a report by The Indian Express, 27-year-old Prathamesh was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 in Germany, where he was pursuing his further education. He was brought back to India to seek treatment from Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. However, the doctors advised him to preserve his semen before chemotherapy and radiation. He nominated her mother and her sister to use his semen in case of his death.

He lost his vision to cancer and soon lost his speech too. He was bedridden for the later part of the illness before he succumbed to it in 2016. About her decision to have his son’s children using this method, Rajashree said,

“My daughter stopped talking. I walked around with my son’s photo, kept it at the dinner table and served food. That’s when I thought, why not have some part of him that is ‘live’ and can be with us.”

That thought was the driving force for her to complete all formalities with the German semen bank. She then approached Sahyadri hospital in Pune to seek the IVF procedure. She was ready to be the surrogate for the fertilised eggs but was deemed unfit by the doctors. She said,

“I am menopausal, so doctors ruled me out for the pregnancy. A married relative offered to be the surrogate mother and she handed over the twins to me the minute they were born.”

Now, with two healthy grandchildren, Rajashree is really happy and believes she got her son back. The twins, a girl and a boy, are named Prathamesh and Preesha. She doesn’t like it when anyone calls her their grandmother. She says,

“I am their mother now.”

Just recently, we heard of a mother being a surrogate for her son’s kids because the wife couldn’t bear children. And now, this mother’s determination to preserve a part of her young son just goes on to prove how deep and true a mother’s love is.