Jeffrey Harrison made $400 a month in the late 1980s by being a frequent sperm donor at California Cryobank. Nearly two decades later he has come forward to confirm his identity after he discovered his biological children wanted to meet him.
Two teenage girls launched a public appeal in the New York Times to find their biological father who they only knew as ‘Donor 150. Mr. Harrison discovered the article but initially hesitated to come forward.
Mr. Harrison, who is now 50-years-old, lives a simple life near Venice, California, in a mobile home with four dogs. His low-key life is funded by odd jobs.
At first, he wasn’t sure what the teenagers would think of his lifestyle.
He decided to confirm his identity through the Donor Sibling Registry where he found four more children trying to contact ‘Donor 150’.
He told the BBC, “it’s a short life and these children need to have some kind of resolution.
He has since met three of his daughters and has been in contact with his other children via email.
One of the girls, Danielle Pagano, has spent several hours on the phone with her biological father in the few days since she discovered his identity. She told the media “He’s sort of a free spirit, and I don’t care what career he has. I got to talk to his dogs.”
California Cryobank’s ‘Donor 150’ was described as a tall, blue-eyed art lover and was much sought after.
The fertility institution is a world wide leader in sperm banking.
Donor selection at California Cryobank is a stringent screening process that accepts only 1-2% of men who apply. Height, weight, age and educational background are initial factors in the selection process. Applicants are also asked about their family’s adoption history, whether they or their parents were adopted.
Sperm donors must be between 19 and 39 years old to provide superior quality of sperm. Men over 40 are less likely to produce sperm that remains viable during freezing and thawing.
It is also a requirement that sperm donors have attended at least two years of college. Many of the sperm bank’s specimens are from graduates of University of California LA (UCLA), University of Southern California (USC), University of California Berkeley (UCB), Stanford, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
After passing the initial screening process, sperm donors must pass in-depths medical interviews and tests which identify family history of diseases like diabetes and cancer. S complete three-generation medical and genetic history extends to siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Potential donors have sperm samples tested for STDs including Chlamydia, gonorrhea, Syphilis and HIV.
The Donor Sibling Registry through which Jeffrey Harrison and his biological offspring were connected, was founded by Wendy Kramer and her biological son, Ryan.
The service offers resources for individuals to locate half-siblings, genetic parents and genetic offspring.
Sources
“Six US girls find sperm donor dad” BBC News, February 15, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6363765.stm
