Accidental sibling sex fears prompt calls for change
Australian prospective donors are desperate to get to know their biological family, and many are frightened by the prospect of unknowingly sleeping with a sibling.
Their fears are leading to calls for world-first legislation that would protect the legal right to know not only your biological parents but also your siblings.
The concerns were among many shared at a public hearing on Friday as part of an inquiry into fertility support and assisted reproductive treatment in NSW.
The inquest was told of a case in which two men in NSW married before learning they shared the same sperm donor and were genetic siblings.
Currently, each state has its own system for addressing these fertility issues, including different limits on how many families a sperm donor can contribute to.
Genea Fertility CEO Tim Yeoh called for a national donor registry and a uniform 10-family limit for contributors.
This will increase the current five-family limit in NSW and WA.
These changes are said to be “widely accepted” as the right way forward for the fertility industry.
But boundaries and status records are not always available.
Many prospective donors live with the uncomfortable reality that they may have hundreds of siblings they do not know about.
Witness Sarah Dingle told the hearing that her biological father made more than 200 donations to the Royal North Shore Hospital and may have donated to other hospitals.
With each donation, 5 to 20 children can be created.
“I don’t like my biological father getting paid,” said Ms. Dingle.
“He came back because he got paid, he came back.”
Mr Yeoh said donors were no longer paid, but travel and other expenses could be covered.
Donor Conceived Australia director Rebecca Godwin said she was horrified to discover a colleague was her sister.
She lives in fear of her children becoming close to a biological relative.
Ms Godwin made several recommendations to the inquiry, including a strengthened and mandated national donation limit, donor-born siblings being informed of any medical conditions a donor has, and ongoing counseling support and access to genetic testing for donor-born children.
