Sperm donated in the UK is being exported to other countries and can be used to create large numbers of children across the world, violating a strict 10-family limit that applies in the UK, experts warned. According to The Guardian , while a single donor can be used to create no more than 10 families in UK fertility clinics, there are no restrictions on sperm or eggs from the country being sent abroad. This legal loophole is being exploited in what appears to be an industrial-level practice.
It also raises the prospect of some donor-conceived children navigating relationships with dozens of biological half-siblings across Europe and beyond. Amidst this, experts are calling on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to tighten restrictions. "If you believe that it's necessary to enforce the 10-family limit in the modern world then logically that should apply wherever the sperm are from," said Prof Jackson Kirkman-Brown, chair of the Association for Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS), per The Guardian .
"There is data showing that some of the children who find the really big families struggle with that," he added. Separately, speaking to the outlet, Prof Lucy Frith, of the University of Manchester, who is researching donor-conceived experiences, said that making contact with biological half-siblings is often viewed positively. However, she added that "when numbers of siblings began to grow [it] felt unmanageable to have contact and relationships with a .