Man with Fragile X syndrome advertised himself as sperm donor online

A sperm donor who did not explain his genetic condition to the women he helped get pregnant has been named in court, to warn other women looking for donors.

James MacDougall, who has Fragile X syndrome, advertised himself online as a private sperm donor and claims to have fathered 15 children for lesbian mothers in the last four years. Mrs Justice Lieven took the unusual step of naming MacDougall, because he advertised himself as a sperm donor despite knowing that he was ineligible to donate through fertility clinics, because the condition could be passed on to any children he might father.

'I have no confidence that he will not act as a sperm donor in the future. I equally have no confidence in him fully explaining to any woman the true implications of his Fragile X syndrome' she said in her judgment. 'There is therefore a very specific benefit in him being named in the hope that women will look him up on the internet and see this.'

Fragile X syndrome is an incurable genetic condition that can cause learning disability and is associated with a wide variety of other features including behavioural and communication problems, autism, epilepsy, and issues with connective tissue.

MacDougall did not explain to the women he helped get pregnant that he had the condition, the only mention of it was on the final page of a densely-printed three-page document written 'in highly legalistic language' that he asked some of the women to sign. It did not explain what Fragile X syndrome is or the possibility that any children he helped create could be affected.

One of these children is now aged three and 'there are significant concerns about her development as she is still not verbal and is behaviourally challenging'.

The court had no power to prevent MacDougall offering to act as a sperm donor, and although there are rules about who can donate through registered fertility clinics, and how many families each donor can help, none of this applies to private arrangements.

The case came to court because MacDougall was seeking parental responsibility orders and child arrangement orders to have contact with four of the children born from his donations.

Three of the children were born to two women who were formerly a couple. Although the document signed before the first pregnancy agreed that MacDougall would not have parental rights or a right to contact, he did have contact with that child until June 2020. There is no history of contact with the younger children.

Lieven rejected MacDougall's applications, noting that he had not sought the same in respect of most of the other children he helped create, and  'In my view, a large part of his motivation for making these applications is to control [the two mothers]'. She also banned him from making further applications for three years because 'it is plain that [MacDougall] does not understand, or accept, boundaries.'

'Sperm donation via licensed clinics involves various checks and safeguards,' said Sarah Norcross, director of PET. 'There is no guarantee that a donor found online will disclose any heritable health conditions that they have, or that they carry. Nor is such a donor guaranteed to be honest about his intentions, with regard to future contact or involvement with any child born.'