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Sperm donor kids share ailment
Seattle Post-Intelligencer ^ | August 12, 2006 | KIM NGUYEN

Posted on 08/13/2006 6:36:53 PM PDT by neverdem

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Half-siblings meet through Web site set up by mother who reached out

NEDERLAND, Colo. -- Michelle Jorgenson thought it was odd that her 8-year-old daughter Cheyenne -- conceived with sperm from a mystery man known to Jorgenson only as Donor 3066 -- was extremely sensitive to sound and walked on her toes.

Jorgenson started checking on the Internet and soon learned of at least six other children around the country who were fathered by 3066. And of those seven, she discovered to her alarm, two have autism, and two others, Cheyenne included, show signs of a sensory disorder tied closely to autism.

The children's mothers located one another beginning a year ago through the Donor Sibling Registry, a Web site run out of this Colorado mountain town. It enables mothers artificially inseminated by the same donor -- and children fathered by the same man -- to find each other.

In this case, the women all used 3066, whose sperm was provided by the California Cryobank, based in Los Angeles.

"Pretty much you're thinking this person has a perfect medical history," said Jorgenson, who lives in Sacramento, Calif. "And then later I find out that some of the other siblings have other disabilities that are or are not attributed to the donor. I wouldn't have chose him had I known this had existed."

The Web site that brought them together is run out of Wendy Kramer's home in Nederland. Kramer started the registry so her son Ryan could find his siblings, and she said it has led to family reunions and brought joy to people who send out e-mail inquiries that typically begin, "Hi, you don't know me, but we're related."

But the site has also become a clearinghouse for those seeking answers about everything from potentially dangerous medical conditions to personality quirks. Often, they come away with more questions than answers because most sperm banks and clinics refuse to share confidential files about donors.

So far, the mothers who were impregnated with 3066's sperm have been frustrated in their attempts to find out more about the man and confirm their suspicions that their children inherited their medical problems from him.

But they have formed a support group of sorts, comparing notes on their youngsters and arming themselves with medical information they might need someday.

Researchers do not know whether autism, a disorder that affects the ability to form normal social relationships and communicate with others, is a hereditary disease or an acquired illness, according to the Autism Society of America. It affects one in 175 children ages 4 through 17, the society said.

The Web site helped Jorgenson find Jenafer Elin, whose 9-year-old son Joshua, another offspring of 3066, is also sensitive to noise and hates wearing clothing with tags. Cheyenne, Joshua and their 7-year-old half-sister Allyson and their mothers met in Fresno, Calif., this summer for a reunion.

"They got along well and they hit it off immediately," said Allyson's mother, Dawn Warthen of Taneytown, Md. "They referred to each other as brother and sister. They all looked very similar with their blond hair and the girls both had shocking blue eyes."

Donor 3066 -- a man of Norwegian and German descent and a member of the Screen Actors Guild -- filled out a medical profile and reported only that his paternal grandmother had high blood pressure, Jorgenson said.

"Now I've learned more and more history about the other siblings, so you kind of say, 'Hey, maybe the donor did know something but didn't mention it,'" Jorgenson said. She said she called the sperm bank for more information about 3066 and was turned down.

Cappy Rothman, medical director and co-founder of the California Cryobank, said 3066 has been put on "restricted" status -- meaning women can still use his sperm, but are warned that problems could arise in their children -- because a child fathered by him was diagnosed with what Rothman described only as a "metabolic problem." Rothman said no clients have told the cryobank their child has autism.

Rothman said the sperm bank tests for major infectious illnesses such as hepatitis and HIV, but not more exotic medical conditions, and it is not required by law to do so. The sperm bank relies on donors to fill out medical histories extending back three generations.

As for its policies on privacy, Rothman said it does not disclose its donors' identities without their consent.

Arthur Caplan, a University of Pennsylvania bioethicist, said the sperm bank field exists "somewhere between the Wild West and chaos," with no regulations regarding privacy or screening for non-infectious diseases.

"The doctors don't want regulations. The couples who want the treatments don't want regulations. And politicians don't want to go in and regulate because it puts them right smack in the middle of discussions of things like embryos," he said.

The mothers who used sperm from 3066 said they want more information from sperm banks, not just for themselves but for other mothers trying to figure out why their child is falling ill or acting differently.

"They want to know: 'Why did this happen to my child?' " Jorgenson said.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: autism; health; medicine; spermdonation
Mothers who used same sperm donor meet It appears to be the same story.
1 posted on 08/13/2006 6:36:54 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

I guess this sort of thing will tend to happen when you cut natural selection out of the equation.


2 posted on 08/13/2006 6:39:52 PM PDT by Gordongekko909 (I know. Let's cut his WHOLE BODY off.)
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To: neverdem
"They want to know: 'Why did this happen to my child?'

It happened to your child because they were conceived by their mother using mystery goo and a turkey baster. How can you act all surprised and victimized by the results when you have never even met the father? You're lucky your child doesn't have 3 arms.
3 posted on 08/13/2006 6:40:34 PM PDT by Mount Athos
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To: neverdem

Donor 3066 -- a man of Norwegian and German descent and a member of the Screen Actors Guild ..


hmmmmm..


4 posted on 08/13/2006 6:43:31 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ......Help the "Pendleton 8' and families -- http://www.freerepublic.com/~normsrevenge/)
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To: neverdem

Why isn't this a surprise? This is a business, pure and simple. The hell with ethical and moral implications, especially in California. Creepy, egocentric donors and naive recipients seeking to create the "perfect" child, in an imperfect world, an imperfect world that always was, and always will be, last time I checked my Bible. But hey, there are plenty of those people who think they are perfect and deserve the best, at least the best that can be derived by an imperfect human race. God help them.


5 posted on 08/13/2006 6:46:29 PM PDT by john drake
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To: NormsRevenge
Donor 3066....Norwegian and German.....Screen Actors Guild

I wonder who that could be?

6 posted on 08/13/2006 6:49:36 PM PDT by tenthirteen
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To: ValerieUSA; Coleus; Berosus; Cincinatus' Wife; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; ...

"and then along comes Mary, eee..."


7 posted on 08/19/2006 8:15:43 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Thursday, August 10, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: neverdem

You pick up sperm out of a catalogue with absolutely no knowlege of the actual individual, and then whine that you didn't know anything about them????


Jeez, might have thought about that before you used the turkey baster.


8 posted on 08/19/2006 8:21:10 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: 2ndMostConservativeBrdMember; afraidfortherepublic; Alas; al_c; american colleen; annalex; ...


9 posted on 08/19/2006 9:08:05 AM PDT by Coleus (I Support Research using the Ethical, Effective and Moral use of stem cells: non-embryonic "adult")
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To: neverdem
Interesting set of 'symptoms'. Our daughter used to walk on the balls of her feet like that, and was sensitive to loud noises. She also hated tags on her clothes, and wears her socks inside out because she hates the seams. She also didn't have a lot of friends, mainly because she never was into the popular music, clothes or tv shows of the day, so she never had anything to talk about with her schoolmates. I never thought those were problems, just things she liked or disliked.

We decided to homeschool her when she was going into 8th grade. She made a nice group of friends among other homeschooled teens, and is even a singer in a band with a couple of the boys. She graduated high school this year and is going off to college in a week.

I hope these mothers don't treat the kids like they have some sort of disease or disability. That will just stunt them, for sure.

10 posted on 08/19/2006 11:40:05 AM PDT by SuziQ
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To: neverdem
"Pretty much you're thinking this person has a perfect medical history," said Jorgenson, who lives in Sacramento, Calif. "And then later I find out that some of the other siblings have other disabilities that are or are not attributed to the donor. I wouldn't have chose him had I known this had existed."

She's not a very articulate woman, if these statements are typical.

11 posted on 08/19/2006 11:55:10 AM PDT by Tax-chick (I've always wanted to be 40 ... and it's as good as I anticipated!)
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