Australian woman given permission to secure dead partner's sperm

Leith Patteson and her fiance Tony Brian Deane had been engaged since October. Photo / Supplied

A Toowoomba woman has been successful in her legal bid to secure her dead partner's sperm so she can have his child after his passing.

Leith Patteson, 42, was blindsided by the sudden death of her fiance Tony Brian Deane, 34, in April, reported the Courier-Mail.

The couple fell in love after meeting in August and had been engaged since October.

They first spoke about having a child a week after getting together.

"It would be the greatest honour I could have to carry on such a wonderful man, everything about him that was so special and wonderful," Ms Patteson told the Courier-Mail.

Mr Deane had been battling a serious and rare blood disease since shortly after the couple got together but died suddenly from an unrelated matter.

The couple lived together and Ms Patteson cared for him while he was ill.

Mr Deane has a daughter from a previous relationship. Ms Patteson has no children.

Ms Patteson said the couple fell in love just days after meeting and never had an argument.

"He was an absolute gentleman ... I think if you got to be the mother of his child and they got his personality you would be a very lucky mother," she said.

Ms Patteson said the idea to harvest her partner's sperm ­occurred to her as he was on life-support.

"The night I said goodbye I said 'I will make some calls tomorrow and let me see what I can do'," she said.

During an urgent court hearing one day after Mr Deane's life support was turned off, a judge ruled in Ms Patteson's favour and granted her permission to have the "testes and any spermatozoa" removed.

Justice Martin Burns ordered the tissue be provided to an IVF organisation to carry out blood tests and store it pending a future application to the Supreme Court for the use of the tissue.

The court documents show Mr Deane's family did not oppose the order.

Ms Patteson's solicitor, Aden Lawyers' David Riwoe, said of Mr Deane: "He definitely wanted to be a father, it was something the family were all very aware of ... when we made the application."

- The Courier-Mail