Genealogical DNA Testing vs. Sperm Banks Promise of Anonymity

Standard disclaimers:

I am not a medical health professional and any comments I post are not intended, nor should they be construed, as medical advice. If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 911 (where applicable) or contact proper emergency service personnel.

I am not an attorney and any comments I post are not intended, nor should they be construed, as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please consult a legal expert who is familiar with the area of legal expertise you need.

I ran across this article – https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-finds-sperm-donor-after-using-dna-test-raising-questions-about-donor-anonymity/. The article raises a bunch of issues, some legal, some medical. I would be interested in hearing what several legal bloggers have to say on the subject. I expect there are some things left out of the article. Hopefully,  one of these two https://www.legalgenealogist.com/ or   https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/ will  do a blog post on the topic.

A friend’s brother sold to a sperm bank to pay for medical school during the 1970s and 1980s. The brother was promised anonymity. Enter my friend who DNA tested several years ago; he gets a close match who he thought was a cousin. After researching her online, he figured out she was a niece, a result of his brother’s sperm bank activities. The brother did not DNA test, but thanks to my friend testing, the promise of anonymity is out the window.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the courts. Sperm banks who don’t make it clear to potential donors that anonymity is now a myth will see some lawsuits by donors who get revealed when a family member DNA tests and “outs” them. No doubt the sperm banks may try and sue those who received the donation and had children if they do DNA testing. The sperm banks ignore the fact a child who DNA tests won’t be covered by any anonymity agreement the parents signed.