
44 siblings and counting - Firebrand
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/health/44-donor-siblings-and-counting/?noredirect=on
======
Lownin
A similar story published by a friend of mine recently -
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/style/modern-love-how-
i-m...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/style/modern-love-how-i-met-my-
children.html)

------
ldite
See also
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertold_Wiesner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertold_Wiesner)
\- 600+ offspring!

(In third place on
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_the_most_c...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_the_most_children)
...)

~~~
kbenson
Hmm, apparently that's because his wife used the sperm he donated for
artificial insemination - at the clinic they _both_ ran. That feels
problematic, if they didn't disclose where it was coming from.

That said, now that I'm thinking about this, I'm actually a little surprised
that some famous individual hasn't decided to sell sperm at a premium with a
contract releasing them from all liability. Given the obsession with fame a
lot of the population seems to have, I'm sure there's a market. :/

~~~
schaefer
"contract releasing them" I am no lawyer, but this can be a grey area. Because
the child born of such an arrangement can not consent to the terms of the
contract - and some judges will interpret the court's responsibility to ensure
both biological parents are supporting the child to mean the sperm donor
(a.k.a: the father) does have responsibilities to the child.

Keep in mind you'll have more than 18 years from the time of donation until
the child reaches adulthood. there are going to be unexpected anomalies within
some legal jurisdictions in that time. It's inevitable.

Consider this case from california [1]. now ask: would an famous individual
selling sperm at a premium establish presumption of parenthood?

maybe, maybe not. but what is the likelyhood there'd be a lawsuit about it?

[1]
[https://blogs.findlaw.com/california_case_law/2017/08/sperm-...](https://blogs.findlaw.com/california_case_law/2017/08/sperm-
donor-must-pay-child-support.html)

~~~
kbenson
> and some judges will interpret the court's responsibility to ensure both
> biological parents are supporting the child to mean the sperm donor (a.k.a:
> the father) does have responsibilities to the child.

Then how do anonymous sperm donations work? Is it purely the anonymity that
allows it? I would think a court could easily just order a sperm bank to
openit's records to get child support then.

> Consider this case from california [1]. now ask: would an famous individual
> selling sperm at a premium establish presumption of parenthood?

That seems somewhat specific to the situation, where the sperm donation only
happened that way because of a vasectomy, and the father was present at birth
and acted as a parent. That's a far cry from contractual release of liability
ahead of time.

That said, I do agree that future legal precedents can give cause, but likely
to the same degree as any sperm donor. Then again, in reality someone famous
(and likely wealthy) selling their own sperm is more likely to be a target, so
interesting precedents might be set...

------
Geeek
"A lack of regulation has created enormous genetic families..."

Do we really need to regulate everything involving sexual encounters nowaday?

~~~
toomuchtodo
Artificial procreation isn't a sexual encounter, it's a type of medical
procedure, which is up for regulation.

------
sofaofthedamned
Crikey. I'm the oldest of 13 siblings and I thought that was crazy. We're all
the same parents and family unit.

I do remember a family when I was a child in the 80s that were a bit... feral.
They had 20 kids, they even made the national news.

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beerlord
Why don’t we establish a free market for sperm and let the best ones win?
Surely people would pay a lot of money for the sperm of a gifted man?

Putting some good money behind donation would then encourage more men to do
it, leading to more variety.

