An Australian mother-of-five who wanted a big family since she was a child has spoken about how she turned to an unorthodox online community to get pregnant.
Brooke Withington, 28, was told by a friend about the Sperm Donation Australia Facebook group, where hopeful mothers and willing donors bypass clinics in favour of informal meetups in cafes and hotels where fresh samples are provided.
‘I booked a hotel room and he (the donor) went into the room and messaged me when he had the semen in a jar, then he left and I went in,’ Ms Withington, from the Gold Coast, told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday night.
‘I have always been a very fertile person which I’m so grateful for, but right before I inserted the syringe I remember looking at the semen in there and thinking ‘there’s no way this will work,’ she said.
‘But I inseminated myself with the syringe and it worked first time… I was as surprised as everyone else!’
Brooke Withington is a busy mother-of-five and turned to an unorthodox online community for a sperm donor for her one-year-old Nora
Ms Withington with (pictured with from left to right) Gilbert, Edward, Nora and Odette
Ms Withington explained that coming from a large family herself she had wanted lots of kids since she was eight years old and when she had her first born, Edward, in 2014 at 19 her ‘whole life changed’.
She welcomed her second child Gilbert in 2016 and her first daughter, Odette, in 2018 – whose father is a Japanese friend she knew from her time as an exchange student.
‘My other children were all conceived naturally but I have them 100 per cent of the time on my own so that’s why I decided to go through a sperm donor for my fourth baby.’
‘It seemed like the perfect decision for me since I was already doing it completely in my own anyway and there would be no stress or drama.’
She said she first heard about the Sperm Donation Australia from a friend just after she had Edward in 2014.
‘At first I thought it was very different and I couldn’t imagine myself choosing to go down that path but when I got to that point in my life, it actually didn’t sound so wild after all.
‘I put up a post about myself and what I was looking for and I had a few donors private message me.
‘I chose a couple of them that I felt the conversation flowed quite easily as that was really important to me so I wouldn’t feel nervous or uneasy.’
The family welcomed a fifth member just four months ago named Mabel (centre)
Ms Withington pictured with donor conceived Nora who recently turned one
She said she wanted an Asian donor because Odette has Asian heritage and her other children are all white.
‘When I found the right donor I told him everything I was and wasn’t comfortable with; I was personally only comfortable with artificial insemination and the donor I chose was strictly AI.’
She then had her ‘miracle’ daughter Nora who is now one-year-old before welcoming fifth child Mabel through a brief relationship.
‘I love having five kids but I’m definitely thinking about having one more child one day and if I do – I will definitely be going down the sperm donor path again.’
‘The conception and pregnancy with Nora was the most drama and stress free experience.’
The Gold Coast local said she would most definitely use a donor for another child if she decided she wanted a sixth
She said people online often troll her – particularly with the phrase ‘tax payer dollars’ suggesting she is cashing in on welfare but Ms Withington said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
‘But I work at a great job, so I feel that I am contributing to the community, making my own money and also showing my children that working is very important.’
The man behind the online Sperm Donation Australia Group, Adam Hooper has recently taken the movement to other countries launching Sperm Donation World.
‘The standard is so good in Australia that this is the main source and way people use to (artificially) conceive children now, bypassing clinics,’ Mr Hooper told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday night.
The man behind Sperm Donation World, 38-year-old Adam Hooper (pictured) is heading to the UK in September
He has himself fathered more than 20 children via donations and claims to have helped bring literally hundreds of more children into the world via facilitating his group.
‘I am coming to the UK in September to Launch Sperm Donation UK and hope to bring the same recipe for success that we have seen in Australia.’
Mr Hooper said that he had started the group ‘in 2015 and in 2023 ‘we’re still yet to see any headlines about this going wrong.’
‘The family court system is full of people that have rushed into relationships and had children, so this way is a logical and safer choice for people to consider’
‘You don’t pick your husband and wife of a piece of paper you go and meet them’
‘Currently, in the UK, the online donor scene is poorly moderated and run by people with not the right motives.’
‘I want to raise the standards in the UK so many women like Brooke can share their own local stories.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk