Three relatives father hundreds of children in Quebec

Politicians in Quebec, Canada, want to cap the number of times a sperm donor can donate, following a documentary that discovered three prolific, related donors.

Over 600 children were discovered to have been born following sperm donations arranged via Facebook, by three men, two of whom are carriers of a serious genetic condition. The discovery was reported in a documentary by Noovo called Père 100 Enfants. Canada does not currently have a cap on the number of donations a sperm donor can make, and Quebec's public health director, Dr Luc Boileau, has announced he is in talks with Health Canada to consider introducing one after seeing the documentary.

As this situation had not arisen before, Dr Boileau explained in an interview with Noovo. 'On the Canadian scene, no one saw this coming either. This is a new situation,' he said.

Two of the men who donated sperm were discovered to be carriers of a genetic variant for tyrosinemia, a condition that leads to liver disease. To have this disease, the child has to inherent the faulty gene from both the father and the mother. It is not currently known if any of the of children born via donation from these men have this condition.

Dr Boileau also stated that the department of public health is interested in getting the mothers and children involved. This will allow them to be aware of their half-siblings, in an effort to reduce the risk of them inadvertently having families together.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé added that the documentary reveals a 'public health issue', and that he was planning on meeting with Dr Boileau to discover 'solutions' to the problem. Opposition parties responded to the documentary by calling on the Quebec government to end the 'Wild West' of sperm donation.