Family Law, Health Care / Medicine, Kids

I Want To Put A Baby In You: #1 Sperm Donor

Ladies, get in line quickly -- this professor thinks he might be getting too old to donate more sperm.

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sperm donor donation egg embryo zygote IVF in vitro fertilization.jpgLast week, the New York Post published the article of the year, a fascinating piece on Ari Nagel, the sperm donor Casanova of New York City. Honestly, due to some of the bizarre and salacious details of Nagel’s donor activities (e.g., masturbating in Target bathrooms and complaining that Target wifi does not allow him to connect to his favorite pornography websites), I initially thought it was a satirical piece. Nope. As they say, truth is often stranger than fiction.

According to the Post, Nagel is a math professor who, thanks to his prolific sperm donating activities, has fathered 22 children so far. Nagel claims to have an extremely high sperm count (85 million bad boys per milliliter!), and says that he is actually in high demand. He even says that he’s had to make difficult choices between different women requesting his services, and has had to decide which woman is more deserving. Even more amazing, many of the donations have been made the old-fashioned way. That is, Nagel is having sexual intercourse with recipients.

The Post interviewed recipients of his Nagel’s sperm and, um, services. They describe eagerly wanting to use his sperm. They even mention his good looks and charisma. (No offense to Nagel, but I’m not seeing it. In all fairness, though, maybe my perception is distorted by the mental image of a creepy dude masturbating at Target.)

Terrible Idea? Is Nagel’s behavior ill advised? Of course. Finding a donor online, or using anyone who hasn’t gone through FDA-required testing, is a recipe for disaster. Fertility doctors and clinics generally follow guidelines and FDA testing requirements. The testing protects the recipient from receiving certain serious communicable diseases, such as HIV, and also tests for certain hereditary conditions, like cystic fibrosis. Recipients who use a donor without going through a licensed physician are taking the risk of contracting a communicable disease themselves. Or, worse, they risk their child contracting a communicable disease or having an inheritable condition that could have been prevented.

Great idea? On the other hand, given some of the latest stories of the failure of the current system, I understand the draw of using a smart professor’s free sperm. In my recent article entitled “Flawed Sperm,” I addressed the Xytex case. That case involved allegations of a donor who lied about being a Ph.D. student and pretended to have a high IQ and speak 5 languages; over 20 women bought this particular donor’s sperm, only to find out later that he was a college drop-out, a felon, and schizophrenic. While recipients of Nagel’s sperm may not have the assurances that come from medical screening, they at least know that Nagel is indeed a mathematics professor, known for his charisma and good looks, and has successfully donated sperm to others. Plus, he’s giving it away for free.

Parental Rights Problems. While parental rights are determined by state law, most states require certain conditions to be met for a sperm “donor” to be legally considered merely a donor. Otherwise, the sperm provider could be on the hook when it comes to parental obligations, financial or otherwise. Many states require that a donation take place through a licensed physician and/or a contract be in place as to intent and agreement of the parties prior to the donation. These steps where not taken by Nagel or his recipients. Unsurprisingly, Nagel has been successfully sued for child support by at least five of the recipient mothers. Laughably, Nagel is quoted saying, “I don’t know what’s more surprising:  that five sued or that 17 didn’t.”

Nagel notes that most of his paycheck goes to child support and that “financially, it’s bankrupted me. But I have 22 million in the bank, in my kids.” He says he is in talks with several other women and plans to continue to help others conceive through the use of his sperm.

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Even if all the recipients of Nagel’s sperm had agreed not to seek child support and, despite the unenforceable nature of that promise, followed through, Nagel would still not be in the clear from parental responsibility.

In Kansas, for instance, a same-sex female couple contracted with a donor they found on Craigslist. They entered into an agreement with the donor in which he released any parental rights or obligations. However, they did the insemination at home, despite the Kansas donor statute requiring a donation be done through a licensed physician. The child’s parents did not seek child support from the donor. But the state of Kansas did! The parents fell on hard times and used public assistance. In response, Kansas sought reimbursement from the donor in the form of child support. And Kansas won.

Despite the legal and social disaster that is Nagel’s style of donating, I can see why it’s happening. It’s not illegal. And for the most part, Nagel is upfront with his potential recipients. They know what they are getting, and can make an informed decision as to whether Nagel’s DNA is the right fit for them.

Nagel’s services are free (which means there are no expensive sperm bank fees to pay). And apparently, he even babysits some of his kids! So the next time you hear a strange noise coming from the bathroom stall next to you at Target, remember that it may be the sound of someone’s dreams of starting a family coming true.

But ladies, be warned, Nagel thinks he might be getting too old to donate more sperm. So you may need to get in line quickly, or you’ll have to settle for a humanities professor’s sperm.

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Ellen TrachmanEllen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, adoption, and estate planning. You can reach her at babies@abovethelaw.com.

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