Sperm donor sues clinic after discovering he has fathered 17 children

Dr Bryce Cleary donated sperm in 1989 under agreement it would only be used for five babies

A doctor is suing his medical school after discovering sperm he donated 30 years ago was used to father at least 17 children.

Dr Bryce Cleary has filed a $5.25million (£4.23m) lawsuit against Oregon Health & Science University for allegedly breaking an agreement that his sperm would be used to father no more than five children.

The 53 year old, from Portland, Oregon, branded the university's fertility clinic “incredibly irresponsible” after claiming it also broke another promise that the children would be born to mothers living outside of the state.

Dr Cleary, who went on to marry and have three biological sons and an adopted daughter with his wife, says at least two of his offspring conceived through the clinic have gone to the same school, church or social group as his children, The Oregonian reports.

And he fears there could be even more children he does not know about.

Speaking during a press conference while sitting beside 25-year-old Allysen Allee, one of the 17 children he helped father, Dr Cleary said: “Without these promises I would never have participated.

“Recently, I’ve become painfully aware that these promises were a lie.”

The doctor is now trying to deal with the “moral, legal, ethical, and personal obligation” he feels towards the 17 children, his lawsuit said.

Ms Allee, who was brought up in nearby Vancouver, Washington and is expecting her third child, told reporters she found the idea of dozens of cousins growing up in the same area and at the same age as her children concerning.

The lawsuit claims Dr Cleary donated his sperm when he was a first-year medical student at Oregon Health & Science University in 1989 after the hospital’s fertility clinic solicited him and other classmates.

In March 2018, he began to learn about the children his sperm donations had helped father after two young women contacted him.

The lawsuit claims the women used Ancestry.com data and information given to them by the clinic to track down more siblings, as well as Dr Cleary – who then used his own DNA to discover he had at least 17 children born through sperm donations.

Mr Cleary said: “I want this not to happen to people. There needs to be some sort of regulation.

“I can’t control the industry, but I can stand up and say this isn’t cool.”

Tamara Hargens-Bradley, spokeswoman for OHSU, said: “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.”