A lesbian couple has filed a lawsuit against a sperm bank that they allege misled them about a schizophrenic donor.
Angela Collins and Elizabeth Hanson, who live in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, said they thought they had found the perfect match in Donor 9623, who described himself as having an IQ of 160, and claimed to be working towards his Ph.D in neuroscience engineering. The donor also reportedly said his hobbies included ‘crystallography’ and ‘algorithms’ and that he spoke five languages. Collins said she chose the donor because many of his claimed personality traits made her think of her partner, Hanson.
However, in 2014, seven years after Collins had given birth to their child, the lesbian moms discovered the donor in fact had a history of mental illness and a criminal record. He had also exaggerated his academic successes, the couple have said. Court documents are said to show that the donor has, in addition, also been diagnosed with bipolar and narcissistic personality disorders.
Their lawyer, Nancy Hersh, told The New York Times that she considered the matter ‘a public health issue’. She added that at least 12 other American, Canadian and British families were planning lawsuits related to Donor 9623. The children conceived using the sperm all have ‘a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia, which nobody knew at the time they purchased his sperm,’ Hersh told The Times.
In an interview with radio program As It Happens on Canadian network CBC, Collins said: ‘We know nobody is perfect, but we didn’t sign up to choose knowingly that our donor had schizophrenia.’
‘He reported a good health history and stated in his application that he had no physical or medical impairments,’ O’Brien said. The donor had also undergone a standard medical exam, he added.
In the CBC interview, Collins revealed she discovered the truth about the man after Xytex included his name and contact information in an email sent as part of a donor sibling registry. She claimed that simply searching public records about him disproved the claims. ‘Had they [Xytex] done that, we wouldn’t be here today,’ she told CBC.
Collins did, however, say she would not object if her son ever wanted to meet the donor. ‘He is not a bad man; he is a person who has an illness,’ she said.
Cases brought against sperm banks for inaccuracies around donor information have been historically hard to win. Jennifer Cramblett – a white lesbian who was accidentally impregnanted with a black man’s sperm after choosing a blond-haired, blue-eyed donor so the child might resemble her partner Amanda – sought damages from the Midwest Sperm Bank of Downers Grove, but last year the case was dismissed by an Illinois judge.
Collins and Hanson previously tried to bring the Xytex case before the Georgia courts, but it was thrown out.
Angela Collins and Elizabeth Hanson, who live in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, said they thought they had found the perfect match in Donor 9623, who described himself as having an IQ of 160, and claimed to be working towards his Ph.D in neuroscience engineering. The donor also reportedly said his hobbies included ‘crystallography’ and ‘algorithms’ and that he spoke five languages. Collins said she chose the donor because many of his claimed personality traits made her think of her partner, Hanson.
However, in 2014, seven years after Collins had given birth to their child, the lesbian moms discovered the donor in fact had a history of mental illness and a criminal record. He had also exaggerated his academic successes, the couple have said. Court documents are said to show that the donor has, in addition, also been diagnosed with bipolar and narcissistic personality disorders.
More families affected
Collins and Hanson are one of three families who filed lawsuits at Ontario Superior Court this month against Xytex Corp., a sperm bank in Augusta, Georgia, with all claimants accusing Xytex of misleading them about the donor.Their lawyer, Nancy Hersh, told The New York Times that she considered the matter ‘a public health issue’. She added that at least 12 other American, Canadian and British families were planning lawsuits related to Donor 9623. The children conceived using the sperm all have ‘a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia, which nobody knew at the time they purchased his sperm,’ Hersh told The Times.
In an interview with radio program As It Happens on Canadian network CBC, Collins said: ‘We know nobody is perfect, but we didn’t sign up to choose knowingly that our donor had schizophrenia.’
Sperm bank defends procedures
However, in 2015, Xytex’s president, Kevin M. O’Brien, issued a statement saying that couples who used sperm from Donor 9623 were ‘clearly informed the representations [of his personal and health information] were reported by the donor and were not verified by Xytex’.‘He reported a good health history and stated in his application that he had no physical or medical impairments,’ O’Brien said. The donor had also undergone a standard medical exam, he added.
In the CBC interview, Collins revealed she discovered the truth about the man after Xytex included his name and contact information in an email sent as part of a donor sibling registry. She claimed that simply searching public records about him disproved the claims. ‘Had they [Xytex] done that, we wouldn’t be here today,’ she told CBC.
Collins did, however, say she would not object if her son ever wanted to meet the donor. ‘He is not a bad man; he is a person who has an illness,’ she said.
Cases hard to win
The lawsuits also name Outreach Health Services, a Canadian fertility clinic, as a defendant. The suits are seeking millions of Canadian dollars in damages, which they say will partly be used to fund care for the children who could be affected by mental illness. The allegations in the claim, which include wrongful birth, failure to investigate and fraud, are yet to be proven in court.Cases brought against sperm banks for inaccuracies around donor information have been historically hard to win. Jennifer Cramblett – a white lesbian who was accidentally impregnanted with a black man’s sperm after choosing a blond-haired, blue-eyed donor so the child might resemble her partner Amanda – sought damages from the Midwest Sperm Bank of Downers Grove, but last year the case was dismissed by an Illinois judge.
Collins and Hanson previously tried to bring the Xytex case before the Georgia courts, but it was thrown out.