A dad has sued a fertility clinic over nine children who were mistakenly conceived when his sperm was given to gay couples and single mums against his will.
Neil Gaskell took legal action after blunders allowed his “superman-strength” sperm to be given again and again to same-sex couples and single women – against his direct wishes.
He was stunned to discover there had been nine such births, plus another four to heterosexual couples – meaning he had 13 children he never knew about it.
Mr Gaskell, 49, who has three kids of his own through IVF treatment, launched a marathon legal fight and eventually settled on a five-figure sum.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror he told how he held the traditional view that children should be brought up by a mother and father – accepting this is a “divisive” view.
Mr Gaskell is now facing a storm of criticism from same-sex parents and single mums, with lesbian mother Kerry Pask saying his decision to sue was “discriminatory”.
But he insisted, “It’s not about discrimination, it’s not about bigotry.
“I accept some people will find it uncomfortable but I wanted any children born from my sperm to have a mother and a father.
“I accept what I said will be divisive, but these children are what matters the most. A lot of people will strongly agree with me, a lot will strongly disagree, but my concern is for the kids.
“I didn’t want them being questioned. I didn’t want people making comments like ‘Where’s your dad?’ or ‘Why do you have two mums?’
“It takes a man and a woman to create a child. You can’t argue with millions of years of biology.”
Mr Gaskell was left furious after finding out about all the children he had fathered without his consent.
He began donating to the clinic in 2010 after being told he had “superman strength sperm”.
Before doing so he filled in a consent form in which he specified his sperm was “not for same sex couples” and his donation entitled them to money off a round of their own IVF.
Six years later he was contacted out of the blue by the CARE Fertility Clinic – the country’s largest private provider of IVF treatment – who told him “mistakes may have been made”.
He got depressed after learning the clinic had acted against his wishes and decided to sue. It led to the end of his relationship with his partner.
Mr Gaskell won a settlement against CARE Fertility Clinic following a four-year legal battle which is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.
The full-time dad said he has “no problem” with people in same-sex relationships, such as Elton John or Olympic diver Tom Daley, having children of their own.
He said, “I have absolutely no issue with it, be it by adoption, IVF or a surrogate. It’s just in my case I wanted them to have a father figure in their life, in my eyes that would reduce the chances of them coming looking for me when they’re older.”
Mr Gaskell and his former partner, of Manchester, had spent 14 years trying for a baby with 12 failed IVF attempts.
In 2008, they moved to Melbourne and sometime later were thrilled to welcome their first child after successful IVF treatment.
Mr Gaskell said, “The IVF had a serious impact on us, the two-week wait to see if it had worked was always terrible, then when it didn’t it was devastating.
“We moved to Australia to start a new life with a different frame of mind. We bought a pregnancy test at three weeks and when we saw the blue lines it was overwhelming.
“United winning the treble in 1999 came close, but the baby being born was the best moment of my life.”
By the time the child was born, the couple had returned to the UK. In April 2010, they visited CARE to try for a second child.
Mr Gaskell said, “Research shows that once a body has carried a baby it can be easier to conceive again, so we got in there quick.”
It was while undergoing the treatment he was asked if he would be willing to become a donor – in exchange for a £2,300 discount, cutting the cost from £3,500 to £1,200.
He said, “They approached me and said I had ‘superman strength sperm’ and raised the idea of donation, it was flattering.
“There was the knowledge that I could be helping other people in a similar position to us. Then there was also the financial incentive.”
NHS coronavirus tracing app ‘fixed’ after it failed to accept NHS hospital tests
Care homes in PPE plea as they warn Matt Hancock’s £550m plan ‘only scratches surface’
Clinics are legally not allowed to pay egg or sperm donors but are able to offer discounts on treatment.
It was at this point, he said, he was asked to fill in the consent form and stipulated “not for same-sex couples”.
He also said the form stated his sperm would go to a maximum of 10 families – although he later found out it had gone to 11.
He said, “Because it said ‘families’ I assumed it would go to couples, not single women.”
The couple’s two attempts at IVF at CARE failed but in later years they had two further children after treatment at a clinic in Budapest, Hungary.
He said, “Life was perfect, we had our children and it was fantastic, everything I dreamed of.
“Every now and then it occurred to me that there may be other children out there. It was completely at the back of my mind, we would have the odd discussion wondering ‘Are there children out there?’, but we had our own family and we were happy.
“Going looking for others would have opened up a Pandora’s Box.”
But one Friday in September 2016, Mr Gaskell’s life was turned upside down when he got a call from CARE.
Mirror.co.uk
