Prolific Sperm Donors

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQFu7XNhvng?wmode=transparent]

This morning I read a Global Post article about a prolific sperm donor, Ed Houden, who sells his "private sperm donor services" via his own website rather than through the tradition sperm donation routes (he is 42 years old and too old to donate through clinics). Based on his own record keeping, Houden believes he is 80% successful in impregnating women, which he attributes to his sperm count of "more than 100 million per milliliter of ejaculate," which has resulted in the birth of 82 children, a figure that is constantly growing. His personal states continues: he is HIV negative, Chlamydia free and lost his virginity at the age of 34. To learn more about Ed: http://www.edhouben.eu/EdHoubenE/Index.htm and to read the full article: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/wanderlust/volunteer-sperm-donor-82-children-and-still-going-strong

But its seems Houden is not alone in his incredible number of offspring...while identifying information beyond a donor number may not be accessible in most traditional cases of sperm donation, this serial number of sorts can be used to help identify the number of half siblings you or your child may have out in the world. In some cases this number can hover around 50, and one exceptional large group consisted of 150. According to a New York Times article on the topic, "Now, there is growing concern among parents, donors and medical experts about potential negative consequences of having so many children fathered by the same donors, including the possibility that genes for rare disease could be spread more widely through the population. Some experts are even calling attention to the increased odds of accidental incest between half sisters and have brothers, who often live close to one another." Because of many of these questions, there has been a growing call for regulation of the industry, but the debates continue. To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06donor.html?pagewanted=all

And in other cases, the number of offspring is clouded by secrecy and scandal as in the case of Bertold Wiesner who owned a fertility clinic in London in the 1940s and is responsible for approximately 600 babies who were conceived using his own sperm. Today, this practice is outlawed and legislation in Britain limits a donor to the creation of up to 10 families (does not limit for multiple sibling options). To learn more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9193014/British-man-fathered-600-children-at-own-fertility-clinic.html