Hayley Chapman was a 40-year-old single woman who had already spent $10,000 on unsuccessful fertility treatments when she turned to the internet to seek out a stranger to be her sperm donor.
The Perth woman revealed this week how her desperation for a baby led her to gamble with an online marketplace for sperm, not unlike Tinder, but for babies.
‘What sort of person wants to give away their sperm for free on the internet, what’s their deal, what are they about, it seemed crazy to me – but it also made perfect sense,’ Ms Chapman told the ABC.
After meeting a complete stranger on an unregulated online market place for sperm donors, Ms Chapman fell pregnant and is now expecting her first child
Ms Chapman said she was sick and tired of navigating Australia’s IVF system.
‘I felt like another number in the system, I wanted more connection and it just lacked that,’ she said.
After meeting a complete stranger on an unregulated platform for sperm donors, Ms Chapman fell pregnant and is now expecting her first child.
On the other side of the computer were ‘everyday’ Australian men who were willing to donate their sperm to women in need.
The man who runs one of Australia’s biggest online market places for sperm strongly campaigned for the alternative system, saying ‘fresh (sperm) is best’.
He said he was ‘just your everyday guy’ with two children and a wife who approved of him donating his sperm.
Ms Chapman (pictured) said she was sick and tired of navigating Australia’s IVF system
‘What sort of person wants to give away their sperm for free on the internet, what’s their deal, what are they about, it seemed crazy to me, but it also made perfect sense,’ Ms Chapman said
Ms Chapman revealed she fell pregnant after turning to an online market, after 10 years of unsuccessful IVF treatments
While there was support for the unregulated sperm system, it also had its critics.
IVF Australia said the online market put mums and dads at risk.
Professor Peter Illingworth said freezing sperm acted as a quarantine, and tested for potentially deadly infections like HIV.
‘There have been a number of donors rejected because they were less than truthful with us, and we find those same donors then appearing on the internet,’ he said.
Expecting mother Ms Chapman admitted there were risks with using the unregulated system, but said there was risk in anything.
‘I think that in any case when you’re dating someone you hope that they are the person they say they are,’ Ms Chapman said (pictured telling a friend the good news)
‘I think that in any case when you’re dating someone you hope that they are the person they say they are,’ she said.
Family Law Court reproduction lawyer Jenni Millbank also expressed concerns about the online market for sperm.
Professor Millbank said she dealt with an overwhelming number of cases where people who had a child with a near stranger ended up in bitter disputes.
‘How well do you know this person and how clear are you about your mutual expectations, if you wouldn’t go on a holiday with them for a week, if you wouldn’t lend them your car, don’t have a baby with them,’ she said.