Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Sperm donor in US who fathered 14 children admits he is a virgin

A sperm donor from California admits he has never had sex, yet fathers 14 children. Trent Arsenault hit the headlines last December when his free sperm bank came under investigation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which threatened him with a $100,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
Now, the Fremont, California local who bills himself as having an ideal gene pool to father children, has revealed that he is a 36-year-old virgin. The revelation on Anderson Cooper's daytime show, Anderson, means that the self-confessed tech-geek, an expert in Silicon Valley, finds himself in the highly unusual position of never having had sex, but fathering 14 healthy offspring.

Speaking on the chat show, Mr Arsenault said: 'I coined this term "donor sexual" and I'll explain it means 100 per cent of my sexual energy is for producing sperm for childless couples to have babies. So I don't have other activity outside of that.'

An incredulous Mr Cooper asked: 'So you do not have sex?' 'I will probably be the 40-year-old virgin,' the donor explained. 'Except I'll have 15 plus kids' - a statement that bought with it applause from the audience to the confusion of the host.

The show saw the virgin dad meet one of his progeny for the first time as Analise, who turns two this week, walked onto the stage. A visibly emotional Mr Arsenault said the meeting was a 'a thrill.' The toddler is mothered by a lesbian couple who seemed overjoyed following the donor's decision to help them conceive.

'I'm trying to not get too emotional,' he said. 'I’m just extremely happy that she's healthy and in a loving home. I hope she has the gene of compassion and that her parents nurture that.' Via a website, he touts his sperm as being organic but a health expert on the show warned that his unusual approach to fatherhood opens the door to spreading viral diseases such as HIV.

Her fears echo those of the FDA which claims Mr Arsenault did not take precautions to prevent disease spreading and found him to be unlawfully manufacturing human cells. The agency issued a 'cease-and-desist order' in what is the first ever case of its kind involving a private sperm donor in the U.S.

Mr Arsenault said in the past that he is simply helping out childless couples in situation where the only other alternative would be sex with a stranger. He told Huffington Post: ‘I'm helping people in need... I'm not running a business here.'

Article: 17th January 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

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