By following the trail of an artisanal sperm donor, journalists Marie-Christine Bergeron and Maxime Landry surely had no idea that they would open a Pandora’s box. Last fall, they connected two donors to 225 children. Once the series aired, they had to continue their investigation, because they were far from the mark, as they tell in a fourth episode coming on May 6.
Let’s take a step back before we go any further. In November, Crave presented a three-part documentary series called Father of 100 children. This funny title suggested two things: that a man had an exceptionally numerous offspring and that he did not take responsibility for them. The “100” in the title can in fact mean “without”.
Guided by a mother fooled by a sperm donor, Marie-Christine Bergeron, station manager at Noovo, and her colleague Maxime Landry had dug into the reality of a little-known and yet fairly common phenomenon: artisanal sperm donation. For various reasons, a significant number of women wishing to have a child turn to social networks rather than fertility clinics to conceive a baby.
It is quite easy for them to find men willing to offer their semen for free online. However, this easy access also means that this practice is not regulated at all. Agreements are made between people of good will and women must take the donors’ word for it, particularly on the donation limit that they set for themselves.
In the first three episodes of the series, journalists met mothers who suspected that the donor they dealt with had lied to them by saying he would stop after helping to conceive 25 children. After investigation, Marie-Christine Bergeron and Maxime Landry gave him at least 75. And they were not at the end of their surprise.
As they searched further, they found that another man was much more active. This man was even genetically related to the first. Between them, they had helped conceive 225 children! The fourth episode shows that they were still far from the mark…
A stunning sequel
Once the series aired, the investigative journalist received so many testimonies from women that she and her colleague dove back into it.
What they discovered was astonishing: not only had the first two men helped give birth to more than 500 children, but a third was the father of 80 more. And this third is linked to the first two on a genetic level…
What motivates this trio? We won’t know: none of them agreed to explain themselves on camera, or even on the phone. However, in addition to the risks of inbreeding – 600 children with similar genetic background in southern Quebec is enormous – the eldest of the trio carries a gene likely to cause a disease for which medication must be taken. throughout his life, tyrosinemia. Children born from his gifts are also sick.
One of the speakers in the documentary says that the behavior of these three men is not only irresponsible, but even criminal in her eyes. A psychiatrist not only speaks of narcissism regarding these serial progenitors, but also finds in the words of one of them, who wants to bring together his “purest” descendants, a kinship with sectarian discourse.
The investigation by Marie-Christine Bergeron and Maxime Landry highlights the risky practice of procreation through so-called “artisanal” sperm donation. It also shows that supervision also needs to be perfected in fertility clinics: the third donor in fact contributed to the birth of 75 children in the official system and no one knew that two of his relatives had hundreds of children between them. other children…
From May 6, on Crave. Canal Vie presents the series on Mondays, 8 p.m., until May 13.
reference: www.lapresse.ca