The High Court has made an unprecedented order awarding parenthood to a deceased father of a baby boy born through surrogacy in India. A couple, known only as Mr and Mrs A, entered into a surrogacy arrangement and their son was born in India on 12 April 2010. But Mr A tragically contracted liver cancer during the course of the proceedings and died, leaving the High Court to make a landmark decision to award parenthood to the mother and her deceased husband.
The case was complicated by the fact that only couples – and not single people – can apply for parental orders. When the UK’s surrogacy laws were debated in 2008, Parliament decided that only couples should be able to commission surrogacy arrangements. Parents who apply for parental orders following surrogacy must therefore either be married or living as partners in an enduring family relationship.
Leading fertility lawyer Natalie Gamble, who drafted an amendment to the law in 2008 (which was debated in Committee but rejected) which would have allowed applications from single parents, comments: “The case shows how dangerously outdated our surrogacy laws are. Although Mrs Justice Theis was able to find a way around the law in this case because the father had died after issuing the application, what would have happened if either of the parents had died earlier, perhaps during the pregnancy? This has always been an accident waiting to happen, and the restrictiveness of the current law is leaving children vulnerable and unprotected.
Natalie, whose firm has dealt with many of the leading international surrogacy cases heard by the High Court in recent years including the first to ratify a foreign arrangement, goes on to say: “The case demonstrates the continuing difficulties the courts are facing in dealing with surrogacy arrangements. The High Court is repeatedly having to stretch the legislation in order to secure the status of vulnerable children born through surrogacy, and the emotional and financial cost of this for the family involved is significant. We need a better system of law which caters for these kinds of eventualities, and gives clarity and certainty to ensure that children being born through surrogacy (and their parents and surrogates) are properly protected.”
The case is also the first published case to ratify an Indian surrogacy agreement in which more than expenses were paid to a surrogate mother, following a line of previous published cases ratifying commercial payments for surrogacy made to US and Ukrainian surrogate mothers.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Surrogacy: court awards parenthood to deceased father
The High Court has made an unprecedented order awarding parenthood to a deceased father of a baby boy born through surrogacy in India. A couple, known only as Mr and Mrs A, entered into a surrogacy arrangement and their son was born in India on 12 April 2010. But Mr A tragically contracted liver cancer during the course of the proceedings and died, leaving the High Court to make a landmark decision to award parenthood to the mother and her deceased husband.
The case was complicated by the fact that only couples – and not single people – can apply for parental orders. When the UK’s surrogacy laws were debated in 2008, Parliament decided that only couples should be able to commission surrogacy arrangements. Parents who apply for parental orders following surrogacy must therefore either be married or living as partners in an enduring family relationship.
Leading fertility lawyer Natalie Gamble, who drafted an amendment to the law in 2008 (which was debated in Committee but rejected) which would have allowed applications from single parents, comments: “The case shows how dangerously outdated our surrogacy laws are. Although Mrs Justice Theis was able to find a way around the law in this case because the father had died after issuing the application, what would have happened if either of the parents had died earlier, perhaps during the pregnancy? This has always been an accident waiting to happen, and the restrictiveness of the current law is leaving children vulnerable and unprotected.
Natalie, whose firm has dealt with many of the leading international surrogacy cases heard by the High Court in recent years including the first to ratify a foreign arrangement, goes on to say: “The case demonstrates the continuing difficulties the courts are facing in dealing with surrogacy arrangements. The High Court is repeatedly having to stretch the legislation in order to secure the status of vulnerable children born through surrogacy, and the emotional and financial cost of this for the family involved is significant. We need a better system of law which caters for these kinds of eventualities, and gives clarity and certainty to ensure that children being born through surrogacy (and their parents and surrogates) are properly protected.”
The case is also the first published case to ratify an Indian surrogacy agreement in which more than expenses were paid to a surrogate mother, following a line of previous published cases ratifying commercial payments for surrogacy made to US and Ukrainian surrogate mothers.
The case was complicated by the fact that only couples – and not single people – can apply for parental orders. When the UK’s surrogacy laws were debated in 2008, Parliament decided that only couples should be able to commission surrogacy arrangements. Parents who apply for parental orders following surrogacy must therefore either be married or living as partners in an enduring family relationship.
Leading fertility lawyer Natalie Gamble, who drafted an amendment to the law in 2008 (which was debated in Committee but rejected) which would have allowed applications from single parents, comments: “The case shows how dangerously outdated our surrogacy laws are. Although Mrs Justice Theis was able to find a way around the law in this case because the father had died after issuing the application, what would have happened if either of the parents had died earlier, perhaps during the pregnancy? This has always been an accident waiting to happen, and the restrictiveness of the current law is leaving children vulnerable and unprotected.
Natalie, whose firm has dealt with many of the leading international surrogacy cases heard by the High Court in recent years including the first to ratify a foreign arrangement, goes on to say: “The case demonstrates the continuing difficulties the courts are facing in dealing with surrogacy arrangements. The High Court is repeatedly having to stretch the legislation in order to secure the status of vulnerable children born through surrogacy, and the emotional and financial cost of this for the family involved is significant. We need a better system of law which caters for these kinds of eventualities, and gives clarity and certainty to ensure that children being born through surrogacy (and their parents and surrogates) are properly protected.”
The case is also the first published case to ratify an Indian surrogacy agreement in which more than expenses were paid to a surrogate mother, following a line of previous published cases ratifying commercial payments for surrogacy made to US and Ukrainian surrogate mothers.
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
IVF lottery launched by UK charity 'To Hatch' causes controversy
A controversial lottery, offering £25,000 worth of IVF treatment as a prize, has been given the go ahead. The Gambling Commission has licensed To Hatch, a UK charity offering fertility advice, to sell tickets to win the fertility treatment in a monthly draw.
The creator of To Hatch, Camille Strachan said: 'We will offer struggling couples a completely tailor made service. We hope the To Hatch Lottery can ease the burden on the NHS and reduce the stress slightly on some of those who are struggling'.
Both the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the British Fertility Society (BFS) have issued statements outlining their concerns over the proposed lottery.
'The British Fertility Society is very troubled by the announcement that the charity To Hatch is about to launch an IVF lottery. Although access to effective fertility treatment on the NHS remains patchy, and expensive for those who take the private route, we cannot condone this kind of activity', said Alison McTavish, secretary of the BFS. 'A competition like this, where only the lucky few will be given the chance to start a family, mirrors the 'postcode lottery' of IVF provision on the NHS and is equally unfair'.
The HFEA said in its statement: 'The HFEA is strongly of the view that using IVF as 'prize' in a lottery is wrong and entirely inappropriate. To do so runs counter to the ethos that underpins our regulatory system and clinical practice. It trivialises what is for many people a central part of their lives'.
The lottery will begin on 30 July, with tickets costing £20 a time and the prize open to anyone – not just couples. Single, gay and elderly players won't be excluded from taking part, and if IVF treatment is not a suitable option, it has been suggested that the winner will be offered alternative treatments such as sperm donors, egg donors or surrogacy.
Winners will receive IVF treatment in a choice of one of five top fertility clinics as well as accommodation and other expenses incurred as part of the treatment.
Article: 11th July 2011 Bionews 615 www.bionews.co.uk
The creator of To Hatch, Camille Strachan said: 'We will offer struggling couples a completely tailor made service. We hope the To Hatch Lottery can ease the burden on the NHS and reduce the stress slightly on some of those who are struggling'.
Both the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the British Fertility Society (BFS) have issued statements outlining their concerns over the proposed lottery.
'The British Fertility Society is very troubled by the announcement that the charity To Hatch is about to launch an IVF lottery. Although access to effective fertility treatment on the NHS remains patchy, and expensive for those who take the private route, we cannot condone this kind of activity', said Alison McTavish, secretary of the BFS. 'A competition like this, where only the lucky few will be given the chance to start a family, mirrors the 'postcode lottery' of IVF provision on the NHS and is equally unfair'.
The HFEA said in its statement: 'The HFEA is strongly of the view that using IVF as 'prize' in a lottery is wrong and entirely inappropriate. To do so runs counter to the ethos that underpins our regulatory system and clinical practice. It trivialises what is for many people a central part of their lives'.
The lottery will begin on 30 July, with tickets costing £20 a time and the prize open to anyone – not just couples. Single, gay and elderly players won't be excluded from taking part, and if IVF treatment is not a suitable option, it has been suggested that the winner will be offered alternative treatments such as sperm donors, egg donors or surrogacy.
Winners will receive IVF treatment in a choice of one of five top fertility clinics as well as accommodation and other expenses incurred as part of the treatment.
Article: 11th July 2011 Bionews 615 www.bionews.co.uk
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Infertile woman desperate for a baby refused IVF as her partner has a son
A fashion designer has been left distraught after she was turned down for IVF funding because her partner already has a son from a previous relationship.
Susi Henson, 33, is unable to conceive naturally as she suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, which causes cysts to form on her ovaries. She and her partner Jay Nightingale visited their GP and were referred for treatment.
But after a six-month wait, the couple were told by health bosses their funding request had been turned down because Mr Nightingale, 40, has a 20-year-old son whom Ms Henson has never met. This means they will have to find £7,500 to pay for the treatment privately.
Health guidance organisation the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends all couples with fertility problems aged between 23 and 39 should be allowed three courses of IVF paid for by the NHS. However, NHS Nottinghamshire County stipulates that couples who have a child from a previous relationship are not eligible.
Miss Henson, from Nottingham, said today: 'How can we not be classed as a childless couple? Jay's son lives in Wales, and I've never met him. 'It is a totally unfair system. If I lived in another part of the country I would be able to get funding.
'But the health authorities here won't allow for it. I believe it is totally wrong. It's discriminatory, a complete postcode lottery.' Miss Henson, who owns a corset-making firm, is now calling for the treatment to be made available for all infertile couples. She said: 'I'm sure I'm not the only one out there having these issues. I'm doing this not just for ourselves but for everyone else out there, men and women.
'The condition I have is a disease so treatment should be covered. 'My partner and I are both self-employed and are having to save a lot of cash to be able to think about paying for treatment. 'There must be many out there who cannot afford it. It isn't right.'
Miss Henson has been told that, before any IVF treatment, she will need a year-long course of the drug colmid. Treatment including IVF and the drug would cost £7,500.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/pc2nIH
Susi Henson, 33, is unable to conceive naturally as she suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, which causes cysts to form on her ovaries. She and her partner Jay Nightingale visited their GP and were referred for treatment.
But after a six-month wait, the couple were told by health bosses their funding request had been turned down because Mr Nightingale, 40, has a 20-year-old son whom Ms Henson has never met. This means they will have to find £7,500 to pay for the treatment privately.
Health guidance organisation the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends all couples with fertility problems aged between 23 and 39 should be allowed three courses of IVF paid for by the NHS. However, NHS Nottinghamshire County stipulates that couples who have a child from a previous relationship are not eligible.
Miss Henson, from Nottingham, said today: 'How can we not be classed as a childless couple? Jay's son lives in Wales, and I've never met him. 'It is a totally unfair system. If I lived in another part of the country I would be able to get funding.
'But the health authorities here won't allow for it. I believe it is totally wrong. It's discriminatory, a complete postcode lottery.' Miss Henson, who owns a corset-making firm, is now calling for the treatment to be made available for all infertile couples. She said: 'I'm sure I'm not the only one out there having these issues. I'm doing this not just for ourselves but for everyone else out there, men and women.
'The condition I have is a disease so treatment should be covered. 'My partner and I are both self-employed and are having to save a lot of cash to be able to think about paying for treatment. 'There must be many out there who cannot afford it. It isn't right.'
Miss Henson has been told that, before any IVF treatment, she will need a year-long course of the drug colmid. Treatment including IVF and the drug would cost £7,500.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/pc2nIH
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Glad to be gay parents - Is life getting easier for gay families?
With more same-sex celebrity couples proudly parading their children, is life getting easier for these unconventional set-ups?
Eleven years ago, when Karen decided to try for a baby with her long-term partner, she had no idea how to go about it. She felt uncomfortable disclosing her lesbian relationship to her doctor and wasn't keen on using a sperm bank because she felt strongly that she wanted her child to know who its father was. In the end, by chance, a friend offered to donate sperm. "When I found out I was pregnant, I was over the moon with happiness," she says. "But back then, there wasn't any information for gay and lesbian couples so throughout the whole thing we felt isolated and totally unaware of any legal issues, which could easily have arisen."
In fact, Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow made legal history in 1999 when they won a battle to bring their twins, conceived via donor eggs and carried to term by a surrogate mother, home to Britain after they were born in America. The twins became the first British children to be registered as having two fathers and no mother.
Nowadays things are a bit different. We've got Elton John and David Furnish introducing their surrogate son, Zachary, on the front of OK! magazine. In February, we had Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon introducing the world to the baby boy she had with her girlfriend, Christine Marinoni. Glee star Jane Lynch is stepmother to two daughters from her partner Dr Lara Embry's previous relationship. And there's even a gay adoption plot brewing in EastEnders. It's now so commonplace, a new bi-monthly glossy entitled Pink Parenting is due to hit the newsstands next month.
The magazine is the creation of long-term gay couple Jeff Crockett and Giorgiou Severi, who also publish Europe's leading fertility magazine, Fertility Road. The first issue features an interview with Ricky Martin talking about his twin boys, Valentino and Matteo, recipes from children's food expert Annabel Karmel, plus everything same-sex couples need to know about adoption, fostering and surrogacy.
Over the past 50 years, we have seen a complete shift in what the model of the family looks like and it appears the rise of the gay family is a big part of the next chapter. According to the Department for Education, there were 120 same-sex couples who adopted in 2010. Crockett and Severi cite figures from the 2000 American census, which revealed that 39 per cent of same-sex couples in the States between the ages of 22 and 55 were raising children. "Gay surrogacy or adoption is becoming a common-day occurrence, we are used to the idea. The world is ready for it now," Severi says.
Karen and Erika agree. After their less-than-happy experience 11 years ago, they decided to set up a website, Pride Angel, which is now the world's leading connection site putting lesbian and gay couples together with donors. It provides masses of information, including how to draw up the all-important donor or co-parenting agreements that outline financial and legal obligations.
That Pride Angel now has more than 7,000 members is testament to how big this issue has become.
When Oskana decided to have a baby with her long-term partner, Stacey, they too were lucky enough to have a friend volunteer to donate sperm. They now have a two-year-old and a four-year-old, both of whom were carried by Oskana but adopted by Stacey within weeks of the birth. Now both mothers have names on the birth certificate and absolutely equal parenting rights.
"We sat down with the donor and worked everything out," Oskana says. "He wanted to have visibility but in a sort of 'distant uncle' kind of way. We agreed he would have no rights and no responsibilities and that he wouldn't be morally or financially obligated to do anything."
Stuart and Mark, who live near Manchester and have been in a civil partnership since 2008, took the adoption route. This month, the papers finally came through saying that the two young boys who had been placed with them since last May were officially theirs.
Even though it's now enshrined in law, in the Adoption and Children Act 2002, that same-sex couples get exactly the same rights as heterosexual couples when it comes to adoption, Stuart says he definitely felt they were treated differently because they were gay. "We went for an open evening at Stockport Council and noticed that our names were highlighted in red on the attendance register but nobody else's was," Stuart says. "But once we found the right agency – After Adoption – it was superb. They were very supportive, really thorough, and it really wasn't an issue that we were gay."
To read more go to http://bit.ly/oCApko
Eleven years ago, when Karen decided to try for a baby with her long-term partner, she had no idea how to go about it. She felt uncomfortable disclosing her lesbian relationship to her doctor and wasn't keen on using a sperm bank because she felt strongly that she wanted her child to know who its father was. In the end, by chance, a friend offered to donate sperm. "When I found out I was pregnant, I was over the moon with happiness," she says. "But back then, there wasn't any information for gay and lesbian couples so throughout the whole thing we felt isolated and totally unaware of any legal issues, which could easily have arisen."
In fact, Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow made legal history in 1999 when they won a battle to bring their twins, conceived via donor eggs and carried to term by a surrogate mother, home to Britain after they were born in America. The twins became the first British children to be registered as having two fathers and no mother.
Nowadays things are a bit different. We've got Elton John and David Furnish introducing their surrogate son, Zachary, on the front of OK! magazine. In February, we had Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon introducing the world to the baby boy she had with her girlfriend, Christine Marinoni. Glee star Jane Lynch is stepmother to two daughters from her partner Dr Lara Embry's previous relationship. And there's even a gay adoption plot brewing in EastEnders. It's now so commonplace, a new bi-monthly glossy entitled Pink Parenting is due to hit the newsstands next month.
The magazine is the creation of long-term gay couple Jeff Crockett and Giorgiou Severi, who also publish Europe's leading fertility magazine, Fertility Road. The first issue features an interview with Ricky Martin talking about his twin boys, Valentino and Matteo, recipes from children's food expert Annabel Karmel, plus everything same-sex couples need to know about adoption, fostering and surrogacy.
Over the past 50 years, we have seen a complete shift in what the model of the family looks like and it appears the rise of the gay family is a big part of the next chapter. According to the Department for Education, there were 120 same-sex couples who adopted in 2010. Crockett and Severi cite figures from the 2000 American census, which revealed that 39 per cent of same-sex couples in the States between the ages of 22 and 55 were raising children. "Gay surrogacy or adoption is becoming a common-day occurrence, we are used to the idea. The world is ready for it now," Severi says.
Karen and Erika agree. After their less-than-happy experience 11 years ago, they decided to set up a website, Pride Angel, which is now the world's leading connection site putting lesbian and gay couples together with donors. It provides masses of information, including how to draw up the all-important donor or co-parenting agreements that outline financial and legal obligations.
That Pride Angel now has more than 7,000 members is testament to how big this issue has become.
When Oskana decided to have a baby with her long-term partner, Stacey, they too were lucky enough to have a friend volunteer to donate sperm. They now have a two-year-old and a four-year-old, both of whom were carried by Oskana but adopted by Stacey within weeks of the birth. Now both mothers have names on the birth certificate and absolutely equal parenting rights.
"We sat down with the donor and worked everything out," Oskana says. "He wanted to have visibility but in a sort of 'distant uncle' kind of way. We agreed he would have no rights and no responsibilities and that he wouldn't be morally or financially obligated to do anything."
Stuart and Mark, who live near Manchester and have been in a civil partnership since 2008, took the adoption route. This month, the papers finally came through saying that the two young boys who had been placed with them since last May were officially theirs.
Even though it's now enshrined in law, in the Adoption and Children Act 2002, that same-sex couples get exactly the same rights as heterosexual couples when it comes to adoption, Stuart says he definitely felt they were treated differently because they were gay. "We went for an open evening at Stockport Council and noticed that our names were highlighted in red on the attendance register but nobody else's was," Stuart says. "But once we found the right agency – After Adoption – it was superb. They were very supportive, really thorough, and it really wasn't an issue that we were gay."
To read more go to http://bit.ly/oCApko
Monday, 4 July 2011
Gay Pride London 2011 - Carnival of Love
Organisers of the Gay Pride revels expected a million people to join Saturday's event under the theme Carnival of Love. Luigi Andreoli, a 28-year-old nurse from Ealing, west London, embraced the carnival spirit in fluorescent pink fishnet tights, feathers and a neon corset. "It took me about three hours to get ready," he said. "It's fantastic. This is what we are, and Pride is an excuse to show people that we enjoy who we are and there is nothing wrong with it."
The parade, led by the LGBT disability campaigner Kath Gillespie Sells in a white convertible Corvette, snaked from Portland Place in central London to Trafalgar Square. Cost-conscious civil servants – dressed as anything from a bright red lobster to the Lion King – recycled a two-year-old Home Office-sponsored Bedknobs and Broomsticks-themed float due to stretched resources.
Newcomers to the parade, Glug – the Gay, Lesbian Under Water Group – donned Speedos and underwater masks, while the Liberal Democrats' bus bore the message: "Delivering gay marriage! (Then we can divorce the Tories)". Representatives from the Army and Royal Navy were greeted with enthusiastic cheers as they marched to drumbeats in the afternoon sun.
The former England rugby union winger Ben Cohen said the murder of his father, Peter, who died trying to protect someone at a nightclub he owned in 2000, inspired him to join the parade. His death led the retired rugby star, a 32-year-old married father of twin girls who has a huge following among the gay community, to help raise awareness about homophobic bullying.
Gill Rimmer, 32, a transport planner from Camden, north London, who plays for lesbian had increased the importance of events promoting the gay community. "Living in London I don't feel persecuted on a daily basis, but I don't think my experience would be the same if I lived in other parts of the country," she said. "London Pride is not just for Londoners so it's important for people living outside London to be able to come here and celebrate with like-minded people."
As the skies clouded over in Trafalgar Square, the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who had carried a placard satirising the BNP leader Nick Griffin in the parade, took to the stage. He criticised London politicians, including Mayor Boris Johnson, for failing to attend the event. Then it was time to celebrate: families, gay couples, straight couples and groups of people old and young danced to live music. The concert included numerous great acts such as Stavros Flatley, Lloyd Daniels and girl band Belle Amie.
There was little dancing at the first Gay Pride march in 1972, when gay and lesbian pioneers marched in an act of public solidarity and defiance. What started as a battle for equal rights has been almost overtaken by a celebration of the right to party.
Article: 3rd July 2011 www.independent.co.uk
For more details and dates of gay pride events in your area visit Pride Angel.
The parade, led by the LGBT disability campaigner Kath Gillespie Sells in a white convertible Corvette, snaked from Portland Place in central London to Trafalgar Square. Cost-conscious civil servants – dressed as anything from a bright red lobster to the Lion King – recycled a two-year-old Home Office-sponsored Bedknobs and Broomsticks-themed float due to stretched resources.
Newcomers to the parade, Glug – the Gay, Lesbian Under Water Group – donned Speedos and underwater masks, while the Liberal Democrats' bus bore the message: "Delivering gay marriage! (Then we can divorce the Tories)". Representatives from the Army and Royal Navy were greeted with enthusiastic cheers as they marched to drumbeats in the afternoon sun.
The former England rugby union winger Ben Cohen said the murder of his father, Peter, who died trying to protect someone at a nightclub he owned in 2000, inspired him to join the parade. His death led the retired rugby star, a 32-year-old married father of twin girls who has a huge following among the gay community, to help raise awareness about homophobic bullying.
Gill Rimmer, 32, a transport planner from Camden, north London, who plays for lesbian had increased the importance of events promoting the gay community. "Living in London I don't feel persecuted on a daily basis, but I don't think my experience would be the same if I lived in other parts of the country," she said. "London Pride is not just for Londoners so it's important for people living outside London to be able to come here and celebrate with like-minded people."
As the skies clouded over in Trafalgar Square, the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who had carried a placard satirising the BNP leader Nick Griffin in the parade, took to the stage. He criticised London politicians, including Mayor Boris Johnson, for failing to attend the event. Then it was time to celebrate: families, gay couples, straight couples and groups of people old and young danced to live music. The concert included numerous great acts such as Stavros Flatley, Lloyd Daniels and girl band Belle Amie.
There was little dancing at the first Gay Pride march in 1972, when gay and lesbian pioneers marched in an act of public solidarity and defiance. What started as a battle for equal rights has been almost overtaken by a celebration of the right to party.
Article: 3rd July 2011 www.independent.co.uk
For more details and dates of gay pride events in your area visit Pride Angel.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Donor Unknown: Film and DVD review
BEING a child is hard enough. Being a child conceived via sperm donation can be even more difficult.
If the child discovers they were born this way, is it easy enough to carry on regardless or will they go down the road of finding out who their real father is?
It's a dilemma faced by JoEllen Marsh which turned her life around in more ways than one. Donor Unknown follows JoEllen as she reveals everything she went through meeting her half-siblings and, ultimately, her donor father, Jeffrey.
It all happens thanks to website the Donor Sibling Registry - it brought JoEllen and Danielle together.
But a New York Times article about the girls sparked an online search that resulted in dozens of 20-somethings coming forward because they were conceived from the same man.
Describing her first meeting with half-sister Danielle as 'weird', this is a heart-warming look at a subject rarely discussed in public.
In it we meet JoEllen and her half-brothers-and-sisters as well as 'Donor 150' aka the sperm donor, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey likens himself to a 'fringe monkey' - someone who lives on the fringes of society, protecting others from danger. He loves dogs and pigeons and lives in a rusty old camper van on Venice Beach.
A self-confessed hippy who pursued acting and modelling in his younger years, his decision to donate sperm was the result of being chatted up by a woman looking for a donor.
It brings a smile to the face listening to the 'family' talk about the similar traits they share - piano playing, same large toes, the way they push hair behind their ears.
Geoffrey's views on life and government would be considered those of a conspiracy theorist, but in truth, he is harmless.
In the end, Donor Unknown is a light-hearted look at a side of life rarely revealed and avoids focusing on the negatives and firmly shows there can be a positive outcome.
If you missed the showing of Donor Unknown 28th June on More4, why not watch the DVD, due out 11th July.
Film review: by Garry McConnachie 29th June 2011 www.dailyrecord.co.uk
Read more about known sperm and egg donation and donors keeping in touch with their children at www.prideangel.com
If the child discovers they were born this way, is it easy enough to carry on regardless or will they go down the road of finding out who their real father is?
It's a dilemma faced by JoEllen Marsh which turned her life around in more ways than one. Donor Unknown follows JoEllen as she reveals everything she went through meeting her half-siblings and, ultimately, her donor father, Jeffrey.
It all happens thanks to website the Donor Sibling Registry - it brought JoEllen and Danielle together.
But a New York Times article about the girls sparked an online search that resulted in dozens of 20-somethings coming forward because they were conceived from the same man.
Describing her first meeting with half-sister Danielle as 'weird', this is a heart-warming look at a subject rarely discussed in public.
In it we meet JoEllen and her half-brothers-and-sisters as well as 'Donor 150' aka the sperm donor, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey likens himself to a 'fringe monkey' - someone who lives on the fringes of society, protecting others from danger. He loves dogs and pigeons and lives in a rusty old camper van on Venice Beach.
A self-confessed hippy who pursued acting and modelling in his younger years, his decision to donate sperm was the result of being chatted up by a woman looking for a donor.
It brings a smile to the face listening to the 'family' talk about the similar traits they share - piano playing, same large toes, the way they push hair behind their ears.
Geoffrey's views on life and government would be considered those of a conspiracy theorist, but in truth, he is harmless.
In the end, Donor Unknown is a light-hearted look at a side of life rarely revealed and avoids focusing on the negatives and firmly shows there can be a positive outcome.
If you missed the showing of Donor Unknown 28th June on More4, why not watch the DVD, due out 11th July.
Film review: by Garry McConnachie 29th June 2011 www.dailyrecord.co.uk
Read more about known sperm and egg donation and donors keeping in touch with their children at www.prideangel.com
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