25 siblings and me-documentary about sperm donation children.

Grandma2213 I think you have a point about children in the past and who fathered them. When medics were first investigating Huntingdons Chorea an illness which is inherited they found it kept appearing in families where there was no other history. The only solution was that the person with the illness had not been fathered by the man on their birth certificate. I think it is the size of the problem with sperm donation which is scary. That and the secrecy which surrounds many of these children is a recipe for more problems.

I watched this and the item on this morning which I found very disturbing. The 'This Morning' item even more so as he had personal contact with the mothers. Apart from the emotional and moral aspects the issue of STDs has already been mentioned. I wonder what the odds are of two of these offspring forming relationships especially if the sperm is distributed over a wide area.

It made me wonder about children born in the past (and in the present) where the father was promiscuous. These children are likely to be living in a more local area and therefore even more likely to meet up and form relationships. I personally have worked in schools in some areas where there are uncanny resemblances between apparently unrelated children. I guess this has gone on in small communities for hundreds of years.

Have you see the serial ‘Orphan Black’ it is about cloned babies and meeting each other. The first series is very good.

I watched on catch-up and found it quite disturbing. The siblings and father made a big thing of Oli's Aspergers for any issues they had with him. I thought at least part of it was different culture and use of language between the USA and UK which they didn't mention. Oli was also the only one apparently gay.
The thought of one man having so many children and the possibility of them marrying each other is disturbing and feels like a dystopian novel. I understand women being desperate to have a child but they don't think of the future when they do this.

Just think of the chance of Sexually transmitted disease ,apart from anything else .Cant wear protection in those circumstances.Theres desperation and theres sheer stupidity

paddyanne how desperate must a woman be to even think of having his child? Just when you think nothing can be quite so bizarre in life somebody tops it!!

I didn't see the programme, but did read something or other about it. I wonder if it occurs to prospective parents contemplating such a procedure, how their offspring may feel about the circumstances of how they came into existence, once they are old enough to understand. A lot of children from one source could prove to have serious implications from the point of view of potential partners once they reach such a time in their lives.

Oh boy, think about all the misfits in the future, unless they're all tracked.

Perfect sums it up Bluebelle. It was an interesting and at times hard watch. As well as his Aspergers I definitely felt it highlighted that although we share a language with USA it can be a very different culture. I couldnt take to the donor at all.
I vaguely remember in the 90s people questioning about potential problems in the future. Apparently it is a more controlled procedure now. Although parents were advised not to tell their children donors were used it must have been devastating when they found out. Certainly in this case where they are not sure how many children are out there there must be a possibility, however small,that two siblings who are not aware of a donor being used could meet.
His mother did briefly refer to her ex partner. She did look vaguely familiar. Apparently Stephen Fry has known Oli since he was a baby so maybe that's where the connections to make the documentary came from.

Just saw an American man on This Morning who ha sfathered 125 children since 2008.Not by AI ,he turns up at the home or hotel and does the deed.Apparently he ha da lot of illegitimate children before he started doing this and his "partners" weren't happy about the number of children he had.he said doing it this way meant no one was annoyed about it and as he likes children he'll continue.
Someone needs to either lock him up or sterilise him,I dont think it would happen here BUT some clown will think its something to aspire to I'm sure.the world is filled with eegits .

Bluebelle we didn't see the partner at all and I did wonder, was I mistaken or did she say that the partner donated an egg and she carried the baby? Which would mean that she has no genetic link with him and her partner has. It's all so complicated!

It was his decision and he obviously wanted to do the programme I m sure it was paid for Trisher so I m sure he wasn’t coerced into it but it was definitely painful at times Thankfully he had a hugely supportive mum back home (although we didn’t see her partner did we ?)
I thought he was out on a limb he was British all the other 26 American, he had Aspergers, and was seemingly gay an almost impossible task to blend in I would have thought
I thought the father (donor) was an arrogant chap reminded me of a young Trump
What a truly horrible situation because of course they could easily end up dating or even marrying one of their siblings and they have no idea how many others they haven’t yet ‘found’ or how often this situation is duplicated

It was distressing for him Luckygirl but I don't think anyone "put him through it" I think it was his decision to have the journey filmed and I do wonder if the documentary paid for his whole trip. He seemed happy to speak to the camera at the beginning and end.

I caught a bit of this programme and was not happy at the media focus on this one really disturbed young man. He had Aspergers and the meeting of all the siblings was impossible for him to deal with. He should not have been put through this. It was clearly distressing him.

There should be a limit on how many times one man’s sperm is used to try to avoid accidentally meeting a sibling.
Per haps this could include a geographical area as well.