Court ruling shows need for caution when using sperm donors, barrister says

16 May 2025, 22:50

Women should be cautious when using unregulated sperm donors, a barrister involved in a High Court case related to a man who claims to have fathered more than 180 children has said.

June Venters KC represented the mother of a child who was a subject of a case involving Robert Albon, an unregulated American sperm donor who uses the pseudonym "Joe Donor" and claims to have fathered children in countries as far away as Argentina and Australia.

At a hearing in a family court in Middlesbrough in March, Mr Albon, 54, sought parental responsibility for the child, known as CA, as well as asking for a second child, CB, to be placed in his care.

In a ruling published on Wednesday, Mr Justice Poole refused Mr Albon's bids, stating that he "uses others' vulnerability and naivety to suit his own ends" and "seems not to recognise the personal turmoil he has left in his wake".

Speaking to the PA news agency following the judgment, Ms Venters, who represented the mother of CA, known as MA, in the case, said that it was "extremely unusual" and urged women who wished to have children by using sperm donors to "check them out".

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She said: "If you are going to consider a sperm donor, then I think you need to check them out, check out their background, ask for evidence of recent health checks, ask for evidence of how they record what, if any, sperm they have donated in the past."

She continued: "That to me is important background information, and it also tells you a little bit about how sincere and how genuine a person is in wanting to donate sperm if they are genuinely doing it, as he (Mr Albon) tried to portray himself, for the good of the women concerned, and to bring children into the world that otherwise wouldn't be born."

She added: "I would, if possible, avoid entering into an arrangement with a sperm donor, unless it was someone that you genuinely knew and could trust."

In a 51-page judgment, Mr Justice Poole said that women who use Mr Albon as a donor are mostly single women or in same-sex relationships, adding it appeared that a high proportion of women in the UK who used his services are "vulnerable in one way or another".

Mr Albon told the court that he charges £100 to deliver his sperm by post, after putting his semen into a syringe and packaging it with frozen tomato puree, to keep it at a suitable temperature, before sending the parcel.

Mr Justice Poole said Mr Albon uses light-hearted terms while advertising his services online, including referring to his semen as "Joe's Juice" or "baby batter".

CA was born in 2023 after MA contacted Mr Albon for him to be a donor, and CB, who has a different mother, was born in 2022, with both conceived through sexual intercourse.

The judge said that the risks of using the prolific unregulated sperm donor are obvious, including the risk of Mr Albon seeking parental responsibility or other court orders, as well as unknown potential health issues.

Ms Venters said on Friday that while she did not wish to criticise all unregulated sperm donors, some of whom "act responsibly", improvements could be made in the law.

She said: "I'm certainly not saying that there needs to be draconian restrictions, but I think we can make improvements, and I think we can learn from this case."

Proceedings were initiated by a local authority in the north-east of England, supported by MA, which asked for CA to have limited indirect contact with Mr Albon.

He opposed the proposals and asked a judge to give him parental responsibility for the child, as well as either face-to-face contact or more extensive indirect contact.

Mr Justice Poole ruled that Mr Albon can be declared as CA's father on a re-registered birth certificate, but could not have parental responsibility or increased contact.

"I have no confidence that Mr Albon would commit to contact and find it likely that he would move on to another family when it suited him, as he has done previously," the judge said.

Mr Albon will be allowed to send a letter or card once a year to CA, to be passed on once MA thinks it is appropriate.

Ms Venters said that her client was an "exceptionally brave young woman".

She said: "She co-operated fully throughout the proceedings, and for her, her primary focus was for her child, and ensuring that she made sure that she was able to care for her in the future and also protect her.

"But she also, and this is where I think she was exceptionally brave, wanted to ensure that she could play her part in forewarning others, who, as in her case, were and are vulnerable women, who are desperate to have children, and really just to flag up the need to be exceedingly careful if they decide to pursue the unregulated route of a sperm donor."