Sperm from UK is being exported to other countries, leading to dozens of half-siblings: Report

Sperm donations initially made in the UK are being exported to other countries in violation of rules, creating a situation of children being 'mass-produced' in multiple countries in Europe and beyond, according to a report.

Rules limit each sperm donation to 10 families in Britain, but there's no such limit on sperm or eggs from the country being sent abroad. This legal loophole is being exploited in what appears to be an industrial-level practice.

Such exports lead to more donor-conceived children abroad, who "could have to navigate relationships with dozens of biological half-siblings across Europe," The Guardian newspaper said in an exclusive report.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Why is UK sperm donations abroad a cause of concern?

“I’m not against there being more than 10 families if some are outside the UK, but 75, which some of these banks have alighted on, is a heck of a lot of relatives," Sarah Norcross, director of the fertility charity Progress Educational Trust told The Guradian.

These days, donor anonymity is practically non-existent, and it's possible to track down biological parents using new DNA testing options proliferating online.

While making contact with biological half-siblings is viewed positively, but when their numbers grew, it "felt unmanageable to have contact and relationships with a growing and indeterminate number of people,” said Prof Lucy Frith of the University of Manchester.

“Once you’ve frozen sperm it doesn’t get any older,” said Prof Jackson Kirkman-Brown, chair of the Association for Reproductive and Clinical Scientists.

This means donor sperm can be used over years or decades.“You can end up with donor siblings older than your parents,” Kirkman-Brown said, giving a hypothetical scenario.

Donations are "presented to donors as a beautiful gift to help someone create a family, not as, ‘We’re going to maximise the number of births from your gametes and make as much money as we can from that,’” said Prof Nicky Hudson, a medical sociologist at De Montford University.

Who is in control of sperm donation rules in the UK?

The rules in Britain regarding sperm and egg donations are controlled by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). “As the HFEA has no remit over donation outside of HFEA licensed clinics, there would be no monitoring of how many times a donor is used in these circumstances,” Rachel Cutting, director of compliance and information at the HFEA, was quoted as saying in the Guardian report.

WATCH: 50% drop in sperm count globally

The Guardian report said Kirkman-Brown and other experts are asking HFEA to crack down.

“There is data showing that some of the children who find the really big families struggle with that,” Kirkman-Brown said. “If you believe that it’s necessary to enforce the 10-family limit in the modern world, then logically that should apply wherever the sperm are from.”

Britain's sperm donation 'industry'

Ironically, Britain was an importer of sperm till five years ago, mainly from the US and Denmark, the report pointed out. But between 2019 and 2021, UK exported 7,542 straws of sperm. The world’s largest sperm and egg bank Cryos opened a unit in Manchester this April.

"The European Sperm Bank, which accounted for 90% of exports, applies a worldwide limit of 75 families a donor and estimates that its donors help on average 25 families," the report said.

Egg donation also rising, but some feel it's like human trafficking

Besides the better-known sperm donations, there is growth in egg donations too in Britain.

Egg freezing technologies have grown in recent years, and egg donations are likely to increase as payments for the same is going to go up from £750 to £986 in October, the Guardian report said.

“The idea of a dad to loads of children already exists in our cultural imagination. We don’t have that for women,” noted Prof Nicky Hudson, a medical sociologist at De Montford University, Hudson, adding that it's not an idea encouraged by women. One of them told Hudson it 'felt like human trafficking'.

(With inputs from agencies)