March 19, 2024

Sperm donor children want answers, says Australian doco

A new Australian documentary gives voice to donor-conceived Australians now seeking fathers.

A new Australian documentary has given voice to a small group of donor conceived Australians now trying to find their fathers.

Sperm Donors Anonymous is a cautionary tale about the effects of anonymous sperm donation on donor-conceived children, their families and on the donors. It is based around a number of real-life cases of both donor-conceived children and sperm donors, looking to connect with their kin.

In an op-ed in the Guardian, documentary producer Lisa Horler wrote: “In making our film…we are hoping to reach the thousands of men who donated sperm anonymously and say: please watch these stories of children conceived with anonymous sperm.” Horler encourages anonymous donors to take steps to attempt to contact their donor children.

Ross Hunter, a Melbourne man, discovered he was donor conceived at age 33. Hunter has created a new website, RUDC? (Are You Donor Conceived?), encouraging children to ask their parents this question.

New laws in Victoria mandate that donor information be available to donor conceived children, regardless of whether the donor consents. The new Victorian law stands in contrast to South Australia, where legislation does not explicitly recognize the right of donor conceived children to know the identity of their donor.  

Sperm donor children want answers, new Australian documentary shows
Xavier Symons
https://www.bioedge.org/images/2008images/TH_sperm_donor_353.jpg
Creative commons
consent
identity
sperm donation