By Louise McLoughlin
A man conceived by sperm donation says he was given the wrong information by the fertility regulator when searching for answers about his heritage.
And Channel 4 News can now exclusively reveal that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulator is investigating what it says is “fewer than 20 cases” where donor conceived people could have received incorrect information about a biological parent or half-siblings.
Nathaniel Allbut is urging fertility clinics and the statutory organisation, which oversees the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research, to “take accountability” after believing he was someone else for “years of my life” after being given the wrong donor file.
Nathaniel’s story
Nat, 22, applied to the HFEA in 2021 for information about the sperm donor who was used to conceive him in a UK clinic in 2002 and said he hoped it would answer questions about who he was.
The file he received months later included non-identifying details about a sperm donor, including height, eye colour, profession and nationality, which Nat believed applied to his biological father.
But he told Channel 4 News that DNA tests taken since have contradicted the HFEA records he was sent.
“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,” Nat told Channel 4 News.
Nathaniel Allbut
He was matched to a number of close relatives on commercial DNA sites, including an individual listed as a half-brother.
Nat said that particular man, who will remain anonymous for privacy reasons, had received a file from the HFEA which described a man with a different height, year and country of birth. Nat believes that person is actually his biological father.
Donor information
People conceived in a UK fertility clinic since 1 April 2005 are able to apply for identifying information about the donor used to conceive them once they turn 18, including their name and last known address. Those who were conceived before that date but since 1 August 1991, including Nat, can request to be connected with half-siblings born from the same donor once they turn 18. They are also entitled to non-identifying information about the donor once they reach age 16.
But Nat believes he was not given the information he is entitled to.
He said that despite fighting for clarity, no-one has taken accountability. The Cromwell Hospital, where his mother received treatment, has now closed, but would have been responsible for record-keeping at the time. His file is now held by London’s Women’s Clinic, who Nat said told him that the “donor sperm details seen on the laboratory record match the donor usage – as was reported by the centre to the HFEA register”. He said the clinic referred him back to the regulator.
In response to our investigation, London’s Women’s Clinic said: “As we have neither seen the DNA results of his donor nor of his recognised biological father, we are unable to offer further comment at this time.”
When asked why they didn’t ask for the Nat’s DNA results they told us: “It seemed outside of the scope of the conversation that applied to us.”
Nat said that his concerns have not been adequately addressed by the HFEA, who are responsible for providing donor conceived people with the information. In correspondence seen by Channel 4 News the HFEA told Nat, “We have not identified any errors in the information we hold on the HFEA Register or in the clinic’s Records.”
Nathaniel Allbut as a child
“They need to take accountability for what’s happened,” he said.
“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. And I think the least they could do is just admit that they’ve made a mistake and correct it.”
He added: “I think it’s just important that this does get corrected because it’s not just me, there are other people who have been given wrong information.”
“They (HFEA) need to take accountability for what’s happened. 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.”
– Nathaniel Allbut
HFEA response
In response to our investigation, the HFEA Chief Executive, Peter Thompson, told Channel 4 News in an interview that the regulator was aware of “fewer than 20 cases” and that the regulator “is dependent on the quality of data that clinics submit to us.”
HFEA Chief Executive, Peter Thompson
He said: “We think it’s probably confined to a very small number of donor clinics back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“We know that clinic practices since the middle of 2000s have improved very significantly with things like double witnessing, which makes all their processes much more reliable. So we think this is a very specific historic problem.”
“We think this is a very specific historic problem.”
– HFEA Chief Executive, Peter Thompson
But he added: “That’s very little consolation if you’re one of the few people caught up in this.”
He also said he wanted to apologise to Nat “on behalf of the system”, and in a written statement, the HFEA has also apologised “for the distress caused” by any additional cases where the information they provided to donor conceived people has not matched recipients’ DNA test results.
‘Rollercoaster of emotions’
Channel 4 News has also spoken to three women, who have shared their experiences of receiving what they believe to be incorrect information from the HFEA. They say they all received the same donor file and were also connected as half-siblings via the HFEA’s Donor Sibling Link. However, the women do not show as biological matches on Ancestry. They now believe they share no biological connection and should never have been matched by the HFEA.
The women told us the experience has been a rollercoaster of emotions, and that the happiness and excitement of matching quickly turned to distress and upset.
HFEA document
One of the women said her sperm donor died several years ago from a heart condition, which caused the other women to briefly believe they needed to be checked for cardiovascular issues.
“We thought we were half-siblings so we briefly thought her sperm donor was ours. She said he’d died from heart problems, so we thought we had to be checked for heart problems. And there was also that disappointment of thinking he had died” one of the women told Channel 4 News. “And then it turned out he wasn’t our donor.”
They say they are frustrated with the HFEA, as well as the wider industry. “I feel the fertility industry does a lot to protect the donor but not a lot to protect us,” they said.“I feel the fertility industry does a lot to protect the donor but not a lot to protect us,” they said.
‘Not fully trustworthy’
Laura Bridgens is also donor conceived and the Founder of Donor Conceived UK, which advocates for change to historical and current donor conception practices.
She said she was aware of others who say they too received incorrect information from the HFEA. She says that there is an understanding for some in the donor conceived community that information supplied by the HFEA is not fully trustworthy.
Laura Bridgens is donor conceived and the Founder of Donor Conceived UK
Laura said she believed the issue was bigger than just UK clinics and the fertility regulator, and that wider legal reform is necessary.
“I know that the HFEA’s hands are tied themselves, because they have to answer to government, and the law really does not help anyone in this situation,” she said.
But she added, “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.”
“Ultimately, it’s information that we believe that we should have access to. It’s a fundamental human right.”
– Laura Bridgens
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