There's much controversy over the case of a sperm donor who is being made to pay child support for two children he fathered for a lesbian couple. It wasn't until the lesbian couple split up that the Child Support Agency asked him to take a paternity test, and then demanded that he pay maintenance.
Men who donate sperm to licensed fertility clinics are not responsible for any children conceived using their donation, but that's not the case if you make your own arrangements. The man in this case says he would never have agreed to donate sperm to the couple had he realised the potential consequences.
Perhaps more worrying for both sperm donors and prospective parents, this law also affects those who donate to online fertility services. Many prospective parents use these websites which appear to offer confidentiality and quick, easy access to donor sperm, without realising that they are unlicensed. Donors who sell them sperm are not made aware that they could end being legally responsible for children in the future.
For prospective parents, there may also be questions about proper screening when using online donor services, as they don't follow the protocols used to check sperm is infection-free in licensed fertility clinics. Sometimes, going through the proper channels can be a slow and frustrating process, but the safeguards of our strictly regulated system do offer a degree of security you may not find elsewhere.
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