California Cryobank, a 30-year-old fertility business, has launched a “Donor Look-A-Like” scheme which allows  women to search for sperm donors that the company claims resemble Tom Cruise, Viggo Mortensen, Will Smith (pictured), and other celebrities or athletes.

The programme, however, has led to criticism from pro-life groups. Dr. David Stevens, Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, said the programme was “another step down the road to the illusion of designer children”.

But Scott Brown, communications director for California Cryobank, has insisted that “this is not a designer baby factory.”

“We want to humanise the experience because we can’t show what the donor actually looks like,” he said.

California law requires that sperm donors be anonymous, and the company said the “Donor Look-A-Like” search was conceived of as a way to make the task of choosing a donor easier, given that one is unable to view a picture of the donor.

The service, however, has significantly boosted sales.

In addition to using the “Donor Look-A-Like” method, potential mothers can search by hair color and texture, eye color, height, weight, ancestry, level of education, area of education, and religion.

In-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics currently offer embyros screened to have specific characteristics, such as blue eyes or blond hair. Others offer gender selection and screening for cancer tendencies.

Dr. Stevens said that, “It is past time that we put limits on the ‘anything goes’ absolute right to reproduction where those born and unborn pay the price of their parent’s whims.”

A recent, unprecedented study on donor-conceived children called ‘My Daddy’s Name is Donor’ found that such children were more likely to suffer social problems than children raised by their own biological parents.

The programme has also drawn criticism from more unexpected quarters. An editiorial in the LA Times, a staunchly secular and liberal paper, said that the programme was “just silly” adding, “If you aspire to celebrity lookalike children, perhaps you’re not quite ready to be a parent”.