An Oregon doctor filed a $5.25 million lawsuit Wednesday against a fertility clinic at the Oregon Health & Science University for being “incredibly irresponsible” with his sperm.
Dr. Bryce Cleary, 53, alleges that the OHSU clinic used his 1989 sperm donation to father at least 17 children—some who live in his area—despite him making an agreement with the clinic at the time that his sperm would be used for no more than five children, all born to women living out of the state.
Dr. Cleary, who lives in Corvallis, learned that at least two of his unexpected biological children conceived through the clinic have attended the same schools, as well as church and social activities, as some of the children he has with his wife—three sons and an adopted daughter.
“The idea that you can produce that many children from one donor and throw them all in the same region?” Cleary said in an emotional statement at a news conference. "There has got to be some reforms. I cant control an industry, but I can sure stand up and say, This isnt cool.”
Dr. Cleary says he only began to learn of his numerous biological offspring in March of 2018, when two of his biological daughters contacted him. The two women said they were able to identify him with the help of Ancestry.com as well as “specific and substantive information” from the clinic, according to the lawsuit.
Money and numbers
The discovery prompted Dr. Cleary to send his DNA to Ancestry.com, which led him to uncover fifteen other children. Most of them live in Oregon and he has now met three of them. In the press conference, he noted that there may be even more children.
A spokesperson for OHSU released a statement saying only that “OHSU treats any allegation of misconduct with the gravity it deserves. In light of our patient privacy obligations and the confidentiality of protected health information, we cannot comment on this case.”
At the news conference WednRead More – Source
