Someone's been a bit too generous

One man; 17 families. No, he's not a bigamist. One British man has reportedly donated sperm to 17 couples, breaching HFEA regulations that limit donation to a maximum of 10 couples, according to The Sunday Times. Does it matter? Actually, yes. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority regulations are in place to prevent the possibility that half-siblings could unknowingly meet and become involved in sexual relationships, thereby potentially parenting children with genetic risks.

In a large country like the United States, with a population of approximately 300 million, the distribution of donated sperm to multiple beneficiaries is not such a big risk. (See my post on Sperm Donor 150, who has 14 known biological children fathered through sperm donation, spread out across the United States.) However, the HFEA has determined that these regulations are necessary in a country like the United Kingdom, which only has about 60 million residents in a relatively small geographical area. Alan Doran, the chief executive of the regulatory authority, admitted this week that others have breached the maximum as well. He announced a crackdown, assuring that the HFEA would be warning fertility clinics that they risk losing their license if they continue to break the rules.

This isn't the first time that we have read about fertility clinics flouting the HFEA guidelines. I'm not sure whether this is simply a case of inadequate monitoring or the inability to follow through and actually impose sanctions. In the case of sperm donation, the risks to offspring could be both physical and emotional. It is important to consider the psychological ramifications to donor-conceived children, who may suffer adversely from discovering that they are one of dozens of siblings born to different families.

I would like to see the HFEA get some teeth. Fertility clinics are profit centres and cannot be expected or trusted to be wholly self-regulating. Since payment of donors is not allowed and sperm donors can only receive fairly minimal expenses for travel expenses and loss of earnings, up to £250 per time, the cost to the clinic is negligible. However, this may also be the reason that men do not come forward to donate sperm, hence the temptation to use the same donor over and over again. There are no regulations regarding how many children each of the 10 permitted families can have via sperm donation, so this one man could have fathered dozens of children who may never know about each other. Those who donated sperm, eggs or embryos after 1 April 2005 are, by law, identifiable, however, this will only happen if the donor-conceived children request their donor’s name and last known address, once they reach the age of 18. It's up to the regulatory authority to put in place as many safeguards as possible. It's also up to them to make sure they are being used.

con·san·guin·i·ty (knsn-gwn-t, -sng-)

n. pl. con·san·guin·i·ties

1. Relationship by blood or by a common ancestor.

2. A close affinity or connection.

"Consanguinity is an important legal concept in that the laws of many jurisdictions consider consanguinity as a factor in deciding whether two individuals may be married." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consanguinity

Comments

[Reproductive Health]

Couples and individuals wishing to use a sperm donor can either ask a friend or relative to donate sperm or they can purchase sperm from an anonymous donor in a sperm bank. Regardless of which method you decide on, it is strongly recommended that all people involved in the sperm donation process undergo psychological counseling.

[Infertility Clinics]

Well for me a sperm donor also must be healthy so and in the future it will not suffer any illness to the baby someday. and to assure god health also.