At least 60 Australian kids conceived with sperm donor who used multiple aliases

Participants at a picnic for women who have had children via sperm donation in Australia discovered that the same sperm donor was the biological father of many of their children. The women began to ask questions because many of the children looked alike.

It turned out that a man had donated formally to a fertility clinic and informally through Facebook groups like Sperm Donation Australia and Australian Backpackers Seeking Sperm Donation. At least 60 children had been conceived with his sperm. He donated under four different names. He has not been named.

Aimee Shackleton, of Donor Conceived Australia, lamented the fact that so little thought was given to the feelings of the child. He or she might want to know his origins when they get older.

‘People talk about meeting up in a car park or hotel and passing over a fresh sample for immediate use,” she told the media. “Our life ought to begin with dignity, and not as a process of some unregulated anonymous transaction.”