Wealthy sperm donor fights to have identity protected from more than 24 children
A wealthy sperm donor who has more than 24 children is trying to prevent the Victorian government from making his identity public because he worries his offspring will want to contact him and establish relationships.
The man has threatened legal action over the government’s plan to release the personal details of men who donated sperm anonymously in the 1980s and 1990s, regardless of whether they consent.
Fairfax reported the senior academic said his biggest fear was that two dozen young adults could start showing up on his doorstep in a affluent Melbourne suburb, seeking a father figure or money.
"I'm not massively rich, but I've made a few bob along the way. I don't want them thinking 'Ooh, look at this guy living in a big house... with a Mercedes in his driveway'," he said.
"When you think about it, anyone who contacts you is going to have a problem.... If I have that many kids, what is the chance of having one who is disabled?"
The man, aged in his 60s, donated sperm on dozens of occasions in the 1980s because he and his wife felt sympathy towards infertile couples.
They chose not to tell their own children about it and the man was recently told his sperm had produced more than 20 children for 12 families.
Last month the man’s wife found an article on the government’s plan, which will likely be put to parliament this year.
The couple were furious that their privacy could be breached and believe sperm donors should be contacted to hear their views.
Under the plan, people conceived with sperm donated before 1998 will be able to learn the details of their donor without their permission.
The government feels all donor conceived children have a right to know their genetic heritage, whether for medical reasons, curiosity or to try and connect with the people who helped to create them.
A discussion paper on the process says a donor will be given two months to say if they wish to be contacted.
If they refuse, they risk a fine of nearly $9000.
The sperm donor felt if people were given his details they could simply find him online.
He worries what would happen when people are told he does not want contact.
"I might get some yobbo kid who comes around to the house and wants to beat me up because I don't want to see them," he told Fairfax.
He said his wife has asked to move interstate because of her concerns.
