A Man Donated Sperm to 10 Institutions Over 6 Years
Issues Arising from Poor Regulation of Sperm Donation
Unintentional Incest Possibility Emerges
A woman in her 30s born through sperm donated from Australia estimated that she could have as many as 700 siblings sharing the same biological father. This situation arose due to the lax regulations and management system related to sperm donation in Australia in the past.
Katherine Dawson (34), born through sperm donation in Australia, estimates that she has as many as 700 biological siblings. [Image source=ABC News]
On the 4th (local time), Australian broadcaster ABC and others reported that in Australia, where many children are born through in vitro fertilization using donated sperm or eggs, various social issues have emerged belatedly due to insufficient regulation and poor management. In particular, Catherine Dawson (34), who was born through donated sperm, once encountered a woman at a gathering who looked very similar to her. It turned out that the woman was also born through donated sperm, and upon verification, it was revealed that the two shared the same 'biological father.'
Following this incident, Dawson began searching for her biological siblings using the donor codes. The second sister she met was unaware that she was born through sperm donation. Although the three women had three different donor codes, DNA tests showed that they all shared the same biological father. Subsequently, Dawson was able to identify more than 50 half-siblings within a year.
She said, "It feels like science fiction," and estimated that "(I) could have up to 700 siblings." Catherine mentioned that her biological father had suffered from colon cancer and other illnesses, which can be hereditary, and she wants to warn her siblings to get health checkups in advance.
Foreign media reported that in the 1970s and 1980s, a certain amount of money was paid each time sperm was donated, and some people abused this by donating their sperm hundreds of times under multiple names. Additionally, as the number of sperm donors decreased, infertility clinics sometimes used sperm from one donor multiple times. Because of this, people cannot know where or who their half-siblings are, raising concerns about the unintentional occurrence of incest.
As various problems surfaced, Australia is strengthening oversight centered on state governments. Queensland, based on a recent investigation showing that 42% of tested samples might have donor identities different from reality, ordered the disposal of thousands of frozen sperm samples collected before 2020. Furthermore, they decided to limit the number of times sperm from one donor can be used and to introduce legislation to establish an information registry managed at the state government level to oversee donors.
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