A mother of five who used donor sperm is concerned about “accidental incest” after learning that her children had at least 43 half-siblings.
After learning she had polycystic ovarian syndrome, Shannon Ashton and her boyfriend initially went to the Queensland Fertility Group in 2002 for specialized assistance (PCOS).
The same-sex couple decided to attempt having a kid with an anonymous sperm donor registered with the Queensland clinic. A year later, they were blessed with a son called Zac.
The couple selected Donor 188, who was listed in the database as a “typical Aussie, athletic dude,” and they continued to use his sperm for their subsequent four children, most recently having a daughter in 2018.
Ms. Ashton quickly learned that her children weren’t the only donors 188 descendants residing in Australia.
She enrolled Zac at a friend’s daycare in 2004 when he was a year old.
Two somewhat older little boys were first enrolled in Karen’s Family Daycare, Ms. Ashton said on her My Rainbow Tribe blog.
Karen was delighted to announce that a couple of her friends, who are also of the same sex, had entrusted their little daughter to her care. This little girl was incredibly lovely and was approximately six months younger than Master Z (Zac).
The parents of the younger daughter made friends with Ms. Ashton and her partner, and one unremarkable day, they accidently discovered their children were half-siblings after discovering they had used the same donor sperm.
Donor 188, a surfer with blonde hair and blue eyes who loved watching “any sport,” had little interest in the arts or crafts but was interested in “science and math.”
It came out that Karen was aware of certain characteristics of the donor in this other relationship, Ms. Ashton added.
I mumbled a few words, and when I saw the expression on her face, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What?” It found out that we had both utilized Donor 188 at this daycare and that our children were really half-siblings.
After the shock subsided, Ms. Ashton sent the clinic an email requesting data on the number of children born from Donor 188.
The clinic responded with a list of 43 more kids, solely categorized by year and gender, according to Ms. Ashton.
We contacted the clinic, and we were so shocked to learn that there were 43 others when we received the response. Never in a million years had I imagined a number like that, Ms. Ashton added.
When her eldest son’s ancestral DNA test matched with another donor sibling who was not on the Queensland clinic’s list, Ms. Ashton had yet another shock.
The phrase “accidental incest,” which refers to sexual activity or marriage between individuals who are ignorant of a familial link, makes Ms. Ashton “sick to the pit of her stomach,” she said.
How many children are still not on our list?
Ms. Ashton remarked.
“I had naively assumed that the clinic would have carefully considered these issues and established stringent guidelines.”
“There is no overwriting of the law.” Nothing controls what occurs, which I was unaware of. I was clueless.
When he and a group of pals went to the clinic and donated sperm samples, Ms. Ashton’s donor was 18 years old.
It was difficult to imagine the young guy comprehended all the ramifications of sperm donation, she said.
Following the recommendation that “a limit of 10 donor families per sperm donor” is appropriate, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.
A sperm donor is only permitted to help five women in NSW, ten women in Victoria, and five families in Western Australia.
According to Queensland Fertility Group (QFG), they have a “dedicated staff” that handles donor information.
According to Virtus Health, “QFG has a committed professional donor team that ties into a nationwide structure.”
This donor team oversees and plans the intricate information flow between donors, recipients, and donor-conceived people within a framework that safeguards the private health information of everyone.
Through a voluntary linkage program, counseling, and support networks, “our donor program fosters and facilitates links between donors and donorconceived individuals.”
The donor of Ms. Ashton had given his gifts before the legislation was changed to require donors to be identified for children created beyond the age of 18.
On Tuesday night’s edition of SBS’s “Inconceivable: The Secret Business of Breeding Humans,” her tale will be featured.
The one-hour documentary explores the “highly immoral and pathologically hidden business” of the reproductive industry in Australia and is based on journalist Sarah Dingle’s hunt for her biological father.