Will his cup runneth over?

[samhexum]

A sperm donor from Perth, who simply wants to help others become parents, has sparked a social media storm following a recent unconventional sperm donation announcement.

Adam Hooper, who has more than 20 donor-conceived children, has touched down in Brisbane where he plans to donate his sperm to multiple women in a span of 10 days.

The so-called “baby-making tour.” will see the father-of-two provide an instant sample of his sperm to women who are ovulating during his stay, the Courier Mail reports.

He is also running a seminar next weekend and expects a number of women to attend, most of which will be in their late 30s and early 40s. So this is a seminal seminar?

While he won’t be able to donate to every attendee, eligible recipients will receive donations in a cup free of charge, as it’s illegal for donors to receive payment for their sperm in Australia.

But the gift has caused a stir online, with those who have read Mr. Hooper’s story concerned that his selfless move is unethical.

“There’s a reason there should be controls on this,” said one Facebook user.
“Very concerning,” said another.

Some commenters were worried that recipients knowing who their donor is would create problems later on when it comes to financial needs and donor-child relationships.

Meanwhile, others questioned the legality behind the donations.

Despite the comments, Mr. Hooper told the Courier Mail that there is nothing “selfish” in what he does, saying he visits the doctor regularly for checkups and is willing to be in the child’s life.

 

Usually, children who were conceived with the help of a sperm donor are not allowed to meet their biological father until they’re 18 years old, however, Mr. Hooper invites his sperm donor children to contact him at any time.

“I’m not a co-parent but if the child wants they can have my photo or call me if they need. I am available for contact,” he said.

“I want the kids to have a sense of knowing where they are from — too many donor children have to spend years trying to track down their fathers.”

Mr. Hooper used his sperm donor experiences to start the Facebook group Sperm Donation Australia, a donation platform that has over 1,500 members.

The 37-year-old matches donors with couples and singles via the group, with over 900 babies being born as a result.

It’s one of many online forums used by recipients who want to avoid conventional sperm donation clinics and find a donor who suits their wants and needs.

Are unregulated donations legal?

With the cost of sperm donation treatment on the rise and the number of sperm donors falling, a number of recipients are looking at informal sperm donation.

While it’s not illegal in Australia, unregulated donation is not recommended by doctors as well as donor and surrogacy experts, as it’s difficult to know if donors are following the rules.

For example, there’s a limit on how much sperm a donor can give. In Victoria and South Australia, a donor can only donate to a maximum of 10 women, whereas in New South Wales a donor can donate to up to five women.

Additionally, donors are not allowed to be anonymous and must truthfully reveal their medical history, as well as their families.

But with no online Australian donor register, Manager of Donor and Surrogacy at City Fertility, Kate Wilford, says it’s difficult for recipients to determine their donor’s history if they’re unofficially donating in some states.

“A registry of this type would be useful for clinics to reduce the sperm donors from potentially dishonestly donating both in a clinic and on forums,” she told news.com.au.

Currently, donor registers are only available in NSW and Victoria. Meanwhile, the Queensland government is currently investigating the matter with a decision to be announced next month.

https://nypost.com/2022/07/17/sperm-donor-adam-hoopers-so-called-baby-making-tour-sparks-controversy/

I guess he cums from (and in) a land down under!

Edited July 18, 2022 by samhexum
just for the hell of it

[MscleLovr]

IIRC there was an episode of “Law & Order” on this. The ‘baddie’ was a prolific sperm-donor/father in NYC and questions arose over the possible future relations of his many children. 

[samhexum]

1 hour ago, MscleLovr said:

IIRC there was an episode of “Law & Order” on this. The ‘baddie’ was a prolific sperm-donor/father in NYC and questions arose over the possible future relations of his many children. 

I've seen that one several times. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629413/characters/nm0546868

The scenario has also played out in real life multiple times in recent years.

[arnie]

My daughter had two kids from the same donor, husband is sterile.  There is a whold gaggle of kids that he has, maybe 2 dozen. They are in touch on Facebook.  My daughter was invited to the Bar Mitzvah of one there kids  donor linked siblings.  I am  not sure if they know his actual identity however.  

[+ Charlie]

I saw a review yesterday of a book written by a woman who was conceived through a prolific sperm donor. She has so far discovered 35 half-siblings, and has established relationships with a number of them.

[samhexum]

On 7/18/2022 at 3:17 AM, MscleLovr said:

IIRC there was an episode of “Law & Order” on this. The ‘baddie’ was a prolific sperm-donor/father in NYC and questions arose over the possible future relations of his many children. 

 

[Luv2play]

I am very accepting of sperm donations for women who have infertile husbands or no husbands at all, including lesbians.  Clinics set up for this are fine but if an individual male  is willing and able to donate in a legal way and he is medically fit to do so then I feel it is fine.

[Epigonos]

An interesting situation here. One of my best friends has two adult children (in their early 40’s). His son is single, and his daughter is in a same sex marriage. His daughter and her spouse decided they wanted a child. The daughter did not want to carry the child, but her spouse did. When they announced their decision to my friend and his wife the wife suggested that they approach their son as the sperm donor. After the son realized that his mother was not asking him to have sex with his sister-in-law he agreed. The two women now have a seven-year-old daughter. The girl is the biological granddaughter of my friend and his wife. She is their son’s biological daughter and the uncle-in-law of his sister's child – INTERESTING. At first the whole thing seemed weird but now everybody in VERY comfortable with their choices.

[MscleLovr]

Intriguing post @Epigonos 

It seems to have worked out well, but my concern would be if the same sex marriage ever broke down. I hope they have all signed an agreement on visiting rights, parental rights, finances etc.

[mike carey]

53 minutes ago, MscleLovr said:

Intriguing post @Epigonos 

It seems to have worked out well, but my concern would be if the same sex marriage ever broke down. I hope they have all signed an agreement on visiting rights, parental rights, finances etc.

I suspect normal custody rules would apply, but perhaps the decision process in the courts would vary. If the state recognises parental rights of a same-sex parents who had a donor biological father of a child, the couple's respective cases would be considered. If it were a more conservative state the biological father, especially in a case like this, would likely have standing. Messy and unfair though it may be.

[mike carey]

36 minutes ago, mike carey said:

I suspect normal custody rules would apply, but perhaps the decision process in the courts would vary. If the state recognises parental rights of a same-sex parents who had a donor biological father of a child, the couple's respective cases would be considered. If it were a more conservative state the biological father, especially in a case like this, would likely have standing. Messy and unfair though it may be.

I meant to say don't wish their marriage away in a hypothetical like this.

[MscleLovr]

11 hours ago, mike carey said:

I meant to say don't wish their marriage away in a hypothetical like this.

No, I don’t wish them ill. I’m not so sure that the law has kept up with the many new ways a family may be formed.
 

But I’m sure many of us know of marriages that have broken down or become dysfunctional and acrimonious,…and suddenly people resort to lawyers. I was thinking of the parental rights, and also the grandparental rights, that might lead to some vexed issues of how the related parties remain involved in the child’s life.

Rather, in the same way people often have a pre-nuptial agreement, I hope people have discussed what might happen in certain scenarios if things do go awry. 

Edited July 21, 2022 by MscleLovr

[mike carey]

1 hour ago, MscleLovr said:

No, I don’t wish them ill. I’m not so sure that the law has kept up with the many new ways a family may be formed.

Sorry, I wasn't implying that you were. The law often hasn't kept up. In Australia with a single federal family law system it has adapted reasonably well (by no means completely), but other jurisdictions vary. I was making the point that whatever it is, the law will have its say in the outcome. (As an aside, whatever is in a pre-nup, the child has rights that the courts will enforce [whether one likes how the court sees them is another question], and a pre-nup is generally about the rights of the two people in the couple.)

Everything you say about the potential pitfalls resonates. I threw that extra line in to try to forestall any drift in a judgmental direction.

[samhexum]

28 minutes ago, mike carey said:

I threw that extra line in to try to forestall any drift in a judgmental direction.

A topic drifting into judgemental territory?  On this site?  Pshaw!

  😁😇🤣