Tokyo Mom Gives up Baby for Adoption Because Sperm Donor Lied About His Ethnicity

sperm donor adoption Japanese man chinese Kyoto University tokyo hereditary disorder sleeping disorders emotional distress fraud unregulated sperm donation sperm donation Mizuho Sasaki sperm donor with mental illness Laura and David Gunner schizophrenia

By Lili Scott , Parent Herald Jan 16, 01:37 pm

Photo: (Photo : STR/AFP via Getty Images)

A Tokyo mom in her 30s has decided to give up her baby for adoption after she learned that the sperm donor she hired to conceive lied about his ethnicity and education.

The married mother also filed a two-million lawsuit against the sperm donor for fraud and emotional distress. According to reports, she believed that the sperm donor was a single Japanese man who finished college at Kyoto University. However, she found out later on that he was Chinese, married, and never went to the prestigious research school.

In 2019, the woman and her husband decided to hire a sperm donor for their second child since they learned he has a hereditary disorder. They didn't want to risk passing on this condition to their next offspring.

To make their plans of expanding their family happen, she looked for the right candidate on social media with specific criteria in mind. Their arrangement was that she and the sperm donor would have intercourse until she got pregnant. That happened ten times with the couple's chosen candidate, who was in his early 20s.

Unregulated Sperm Donation System

However, several months into her pregnancy, the woman and her husband discovered the sperm donor's lie. He only agreed to the arrangement because he wanted physical intimacy. By then, it was too late for the mother to undergo an abortion, so they decided to put the baby up for adoption.

On the other hand, the couple's lawyer said that the woman had sleeping disorders because of what she had been through, including making the decision to give up the child. They filed the lawsuit to ensure that the man would not target other couples and tell the same lies.

According to Vice, commercial artificial insemination and sperm donations are unregulated and very limited in Japan, thus creating an underground market. Some use international sperm banks that cost a fortune, while others turn to cheaper options, such as scouring social media for anyone willing to take the risk.

Misa, a local who has used a sperm donor before, said that the woman did not understand the risk of going through an underground transaction. Social worker Mizuho Sasaki also criticized the mother for being "shallow" and treating the child like a commodity she could discard when she realized she didn't want the baby anymore.

A Sperm Donor with Mental Illness

Meanwhile, Laura and David Gunner in the U.S. also used a sperm donor to conceive their child more than two decades ago. Steven would live until 27 years old only because he suffered from a mental illness, schizophrenia, for more than half his life.

Upon Steven's death, his parents looked up the details of sperm donor 1558 from the Donor Sibling Registry, which led them to 18 other half-siblings and the donor's mother. From these sources, the Gunners learned that the sperm donor had a history of schizophrenia and died due to drug overdose two years before Steven. He didn't share his mental illness in the donor questionnaire from the sperm bank.

The Gunners are now supporting the enactment of legislation that would see stricter disclosures of the donor's health. They believe that had this law been in place before, they would have prevented the birth of a son with an inherited mental illness.