- The Observer, Sunday November 19 2000
BRITISH women are being impregnated with sperm donated by the father of their infertile partner, The Observer can reveal.
The controversial practice is being carried out in an attempt to continue the genetic family line if the man in the relationship is infertile.
Senior medical figures confirmed that the practice, though unusual, was now regularly performed in British clinics. One described it as 'logical, appropriate and ethical'. But the procedure - which makes a father's son his biological half-brother and a child's biological father his or her grandfather - has fuelled the increasingly acrimonious debate over artificial insemination.
Two recent studies by psychologists claimed that children born through anonymous sperm donation faced life-long emotional problems with personal identity, confusion and family mistrust.
As a result of the disquiet, as The Observer revealed last year, sperm donors could be named under new proposals being considered by the government. Children fathered by donor insemination (DI) may be given the same right to trace their genetic fathers as adopted children are.
Professor Robert Winston, Britain's leading specialist in the field who pioneered IVF practices at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, said that the practice was 'not common but not unknown. We get a handful of requests for it a year. On the whole we would be concerned about it'.
Psychiatrists warned this weekend of the impact such treatment might have on a child and its family. 'It may change every single relationship within the family,' said Dr Samantha Gothard, at London's St Anne's Hospital.
Patricia Hardcastle, of the Catholic Media Office, said the practice should not be carried out in Britain before the ethical issues were properly addressed. 'It raises very serious ethical questions about procreation. It raises questions for the child about how he or she fits in with the family. Who is the child's father? Who is its grandfather? It will be very difficult for any child born like this.'
Ann Widdecombe, the Shadow Home Secretary, warned: 'The tangled webs that we are weaving for future generations are just horrifying. This is not something that I would ever endorse.'
Ruth Deech, chairwoman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which licenses and monitors all human embryo research, said that though such a procedure would not be against the law, the authority 'would have to be reassured this would not harm the welfare [of a child]. It would depend on the individual circumstances,' she said.
A spokesman for the authority confirmed they had received inquiries from couples seeking the treatment. 'We have told patients to go to their local clinic and seek the appropriate counselling and information,' he said.
But many medics are still supportive. Dr Jack Cohen, a reproductive biologist, said that during 15 years running sperm banks in western England he estimated that around 12 in every 1,000 artificial inseminations involved a father's sperm. 'It is a controversial area and you make sure you counsel the people well, but it is not an unusual practice and is one that deserves support.'
The practice is increasingly common overseas, particularly in Japan where the maintenance of blood lines is very important, and in America. In both countries it has sparked a fierce debate.
The main proponent of the technique in Japan was recently called before a special ethics committee for violating the rules ensuring the anonymity of any donor. In America, lawyers have expressed concern about 'an emotional risk' if a known donor is in the family.
