Serial sperm donors pose a real “social risk” for the children they father. In Brisbane, Australia, a couple of women reignited the debate after accidentally discovering that the father of their children was also the father of 43 others in the region. The two women had chosen sperm from the same donor for their five children, a “blue-eyed Australian surfer”. One day, they learned that their neighbour and friend has also chosen a “blue-eyed Australian surfer” to conceive her daughter, and at the Queensland Fertility Group as well. After an investigation, it was found that not only was it the same man, but that he had fathered 48 children in Queensland[1]. “I was shocked, literally astounded”, explained the woman. “I thought these things were better regulated”.
While some Australian states have limited sperm donations to a maximum of five to ten women per donor, Queensland has not passed legislation on this issue. With such close geographical proximity — the two friends had their babies in the same nursery — the “risk of accidental incest” is very high.
For further reading:
Man continues to donate sperm samples after fathering 38 children
Dutch doctor accused of fathering at least 200 children at his own fertility clinic
Seventeen British sperm donors have fathered more than five hundred children between them
[1] Australian state whose capital is Brisbane.
BioEdge, Xavier Symons (07/04/2019)