Sperm Donor’s Teen Daughter Finds Him on Myspace
Posted by JeanneSager at 4:30 PM on December 5, 2008
Something tells me the creators of Myspace didn't have this kind of social networking in mind when they set up the site. A California teenager plugged in all the information she had about the man whose sperm her mum used to conceive.
The computer spit back seven possibles – including one photo that looked an awful like her. So Virginia gave Dr. Todd Whitehurst a call.
"I just want to know basic information that most people have access too," the girl said. As a physician, her "dad" could appreciate the importance of a medical history. He was even open to meeting her . . . and eventually nine other children born using his sperm banked at the San Francisco Bay area clinic.
Virginia found her nine half-siblings on the Donor Sperm Registry Website, which she shared with Whitehurst. He then went on and posted information about the two kids he has from more traditional methods. He's since met several of his "kids," including a Gavin from Pennsylvania and Tyler from New York. Like Virginia's mom, the boy's mothers were involved in the process – they were there when their kids met Whitehurst.
It's nice to see a sperm donor who cares about the kids. I've often wondered if the ease of "donation" makes it easier for men to forget about what can come out of the process. Egg donation is much more rare – and a more arduous process – but I can't honestly say that women care more for their progeny than men. We treat them differently, definitely, but I wouldn't say we "love them more."
So why aren't there more donors like Whitehurst out there?
Image: KSV
It would be cool if all egg and sperm donors were like that. Many countries have already banned anonymous gamete donation, but that doesn’t help the people already looking.
According to official figures, the numbers of UK sperm donors actually went *up* in the two years since the ending of anonymity btw, thus reversing a three year decline. The 307 donors in 2006 was 48 more than in 2005, and the highest figure since 2001.
If a sperm donor wants to be anonymous, then he simply shouldn’t be a sperm donor. I was a sperm donor over 20 years ago, and if I have any genetic children looking for me, I’ve made it as easy as possible for them to find me.
Click on the link to go to the Donor Sibling Registry (they gave the name wrong in the article).
I also found my father via myspace. My mother had gotten pregnant the traditional way, passed me off as someone else’s child and finally told me the truth when I was 22. I almost died giving birth to my 1st child and she decided to help me find my medical history. All I knew was his name and had a picture that was 22 years old. NOw we are great friends. My step-sister got married last year and my family was included in the festivities.
THANK YOU MYSPACE!