Nat Allbut, 22, spent years believing he knew who his father was – only to be shocked to learn that the details he was given about his sperm donor were incorrect.
Mr Allbut, who was conceived via IVF with the use of a sperm donor in 2002, applied to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) for information about his biological parent when he turned 18 years old.
He received a file containing details about his sperm donor, including height, eye colour, profession, and nationality and believed them to be his biological father. But two years later, a DNA test he took contradicted the HFEA’s details.
“There were years of my life where I believed that I was someone I wasn’t, or I had a background that wasn’t actually true,” he told Channel Four News.
Now, he is one of more than a dozen people born after sperm donation, who have now been told they may have been given inaccurate information about their biological parent, according to the broadcaster’s report.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates sperm donation and IVF in the UK, has admitted it is investigating more than a dozen cases.
It said that it was aware of “fewer than 20 cases” where incorrect information may have been given, and that it was “dependent on the quality of data that clinics submit”.
The regulator told Channel Four News that the issue was “probably confined to a very small number of donor clinics back in the 1990s and early 2000s.”
“This is a very specific historic problem; that’s very little consolation if you’re one of the few people caught up in this,” it said.
The most recent report from HFEA suggests more than 3,000 children were born through sperm donors in 2019 in the UK – up from 682 in 1990. Egg, sperm and embryo donation account for one in 170 of all births and for one in six births using IVF in the UK.
Since 2005, people born through UK fertility clinics have been able to apply to find out the details about their biological parents. People conceived after August 1991 can also request to be connected with half-siblings born from the same donor once they’re 18.
After Mr Allbut discovered that the details he had received from HFEA did not match his own, he was matched to several close relatives on other commercial DNA sites. They included an person listed as a half-brother, who had received a file from the HFEA which described who he thought was his donor father.
He said: “I found a completely different list of information on Ancestry, which didn’t make sense because it just didn’t correspond to the original file I’d been sent.”
However, the regulator initially claimed that it had not identified any errors in the information it gave to Mr Allburt.
“They need to take accountability for what’s happened,” he said.
“I think the least they could do is just admit that they’ve made a mistake and correct it. It’s not just me; other people have been given wrong information.”
Peter Thompson, chief executive of the HFEA, said he wanted to apologise to Nat Allbut “on behalf of the system”.
In a written statement, the HFEA has also expressed regret “for the distress caused” where the information they provided had not matched DNA test results.
According to Channel Four News’ report, three other women, who initially believed they were half-siblings due to HFEA information, now believe they have been given incorrect details, as they do not show as matches on the DNA site, Ancestry.
Laura Bridgens, who was donor conceived and is the Founder of Donor Conceived UK, said: “People that have been given the wrong information just want acknowledgement and support in navigating this with some dignity. Because ultimately, it’s information that we believe that we should have access to. It’s a fundamental human right.”
