British sperm donor fathers SEVENTEEN families



A British sperm donor has fathered 17 families, raising the risk of the offspring meeting and unwittingly having an incestuous relationship.



The breach of the 10-family limit set by the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority came to light after research by a campaigning group.



It also emerged that another man has created 12 families and three others have created 11.



A human egg is fertilised by injecting sperm. HFEA rules limit to 10 the number of families a donor may create

The HFEA also admitted it does not know how often its rules have been breached.



Joseph Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, the group which discovered the failings, told the Sunday Times: 'There is a real danger in a small country like the UK for donor-conceived children to meet up unknowingly with half-siblings.



'The 10-family limit imposed by the HFEA is obviously an attempt to reduce the probability that any future sexual relationships might ensue with the very worrying risks for offspring associated with consanguinity.



'It is truly lamentable that the HFEA has such inadequate systems in place that it is unable to monitor properly the numbers of babies conceived in this way.'



The HFEA's chief executive, Alan Doran, is to write to fertility clinics warning that further breaches could risk their licence.



The 10-family restriction was imposed to minimise the number of half-brothers and sisters a child born from sperm donation could have.

