Meet The Sperm Donor Who Claims To Have Fathered 800 Children

 

The number of women using donated sperm to get pregnant is rising, but many find the cost of treatment at private clinics prohibitive. This has led some women to use unlicensed donors – but are they putting their health at risk? Simon Watson, 41, has been an unlicensed sperm donor for 16 years, donating once a week. “Usually one [baby] a week pops out. I reckon I’ve got about 800 so far, so within four years I’d like to crack 1,000,” he tells the Victoria Derbyshire programme.. “I’ve got kids all the way from Spain to Taiwan, so many countries. I’d like to get the world record ever, make sure no-one’s going to break it, get as many as possible.”

Very few women are eligible for artificial insemination on the NHS as the criteria are very strict. Private licensed clinics cost between £500 and £1,000 for each cycle of treatment. Men are allowed to father no more than 10 children. Mr Watson charges £50 for his services – the “magic potion pot” – and most of his clients find him on Facebook.

They ask him questions, such as whether he has any hereditary diseases, then they meet, often at a service station on  the M1. Clients either book a room in the hotel or use the public toilets. He provides his own pot and syringe, and is tested for STDs every three months, posting his hospital certificate online. He claims a third of his donations work first time.

“If you go to a fertility clinic people have to go through lots of hurdles – counselling sessions, huge amounts of tests and then charge absolute fortunes for the service – but realistically if you’ve got a private donor you can just go and see them, meet them somewhere, get what you want and just go,” he explains.


BBC.