SPOKANE, Wash - "The only hardcore fact that I know is that I have a child by someone that I didn't choose"
A mother is in shock after discovering the biological father of her child is not the person he said he was.
The mother used Cryo LLC, six years ago.
The man, whose identity was always hidden, originally donated sperm under profile "518" in 2009.
518's profile, provided to us by the mother, shows he had a history of medical problems and a self-described rough upbringing.
The mother decided to use another donor named "901A". That donor's profile showed no history of medical problems and the donor reported having a great childhood.
Then, on Wednesday, September 2, the NW Cyrobank in Spokane, which acquired donor vial inventory and records of Cryo LLC in 2016, sent an email to families and revealed that donor 518 and 901A were the same person.
"If I would have seen donor 518's profile I would have never have picked him," said the mother. "I really feel like we were deceived, in a way it almost feels like death by deception, instead of it being deceiving the parents, you're deceiving all the potential offspring of this man," said the mother.
According to the email, the donor's identity was called into question when another mother who used donor 901A used a DNA test on her child and discovered a half-sibling belonging to donor 518.
The company opened an investigation and used a private investigator to track down donor 518. He told the company that when he turned 39 in 2009 he was no longer eligible to donate. Then in 2010, Donor 518 re-entered the program using the driver’s license of a friend, and assuming that individual’s identity, began donating as Donor 901A
"Honestly, I am just in shock, we went from knowing of, at best guess, 13 siblings, to at least 36 genetic siblings," said the mother.
The mother we spoke to told us that the donor is believed to have fathered children across Washington, Idaho and Montana and that some of the kids have health problems such as ADHD, anxiety, and her son has hemophilia, a rare blood disease that can be passed on by a father.
These are medical conditions the 901A mothers were unaware their children could be facing. However, in the email sent to families, the company claims the new information about the donor's identity does not indicate any significant increase risk for medical problems.
However, that matters little to the families.
"Back when I chose the donor, I chose a donor with medical and genetics that I, at the time, was comfortable with. And the true genetic history of the donor, if it even is the true medical history of the donor, is not something I or several other mothers would have chosen," said the mother.
KHQ reached out to NW Cyrobank for a statement. They told us as soon as the donor's identity was called into question, they opened an investigation and have communicating with families.
NW Cyrobank also said current procedures include a biometric scan confirming a qualified donor’s identity prior to each donation, preventing a single individual from donating under two different donor numbers. NW Cyrobank also includes an expanded genetic carrier screening, a psychological assessment interview, criminal background check and multiple contacts with our donor coordinators.
As for the profiles and photos provided to families, the mother KHQ spoke with doesn't trust that any of it is true.
"I was a victim of childhood rape, so I take this harshly saying this, it was almost like we were medically raped in this situation because we chose something, we purchased something, we were supposed to get that donor, and yet we don't know who really was inside of us," said the mother.
A group of 901A mothers hired a lawyer and are working to file a civil and federal lawsuit against the sperm bank. They also want to know who the real identity of the donor, and his real medical history so they know what medical conditions their children could be facing.
