Finality and Continuity: What Drives Bereaved Parents to Choose Posthumous Sperm Retrieval

Objective: To explore bereaved parents' experience of deciding to pursue posthumous sperm retrieval (PHSR) and the meaning they associate with this choice. Background: The death of a child profoundly disrupts the natural order of life, leaving parents with loss of meaning and identity. PHSR offers bereaved parents an unprecedented option to preserve potential genetic continuity, yet little is known about how parents experience this decision. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with eight bereaved Israeli parents (six mothers, two fathers, ages 49–61) who chose PHSR following their sons' deaths (sons aged 20–29). Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: Three dimensions underlie the decision: (1) an instinctive emotional dimension- a drive to maintain agency amid helplessness; (2) a moral dimension- commitment to fulfill the son's perceived wish for fatherhood and restore intergenerational justice; and (3) a familial-structural dimension- the need to reorganize family relationships and preserve parental identity through potential grandparenthood. Conclusion: PHSR functions as a bridge between finality and continuity, serving simultaneously as an emotional act of reclaiming agency and a moral act of repair. Implications: Practitioners should recognize PHSR as a multifaceted response to loss. Findings can inform policy development and psychosocial support for families navigating posthumous reproduction.