New suits filed over sperm donor who claimed to be a neuroscientist, but wasn't
At least two new lawsuits have filed against a Georgia-based sperm bank by families who thought they were using a sperm donor who was a neuroscientist and later found out he was a convicted felon with mental health issues.
Two suits are being pursued in British Columbia against Xytex Corp. and a local fertility clinic, the Vancouver Sun reports.
A Florida woman identified only as Jane Doe also is pursuing litigation against Xytex, the Tampa Bay Times reports. However, the article doesn’t make clear where that lawsuit was filed.
Previous litigation in Georgia was dismissed because the state does not provide a cause of action for wrongful birth. An appeal by the plaintiff’s side was unsuccessful.
At issue, as the Times reports, is how sperm donor James Christian Aggeles was described on a Xytex website.
The Vancouver newspaper says Xytex could not be reached for comment, but in a written statement provided to the Times the company says it “looks forward to successfully defending itself from this new lawsuit with the same results as the original case.”
In response to earlier litigation, president Kevin O’Brien said Xytex did what it could to check the health and verify the medical history of sperm donors, but added that those who obtained donated sperm were “clearly informed the representations were reported by the donor and were not verified by Xytex.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge tosses suit claiming sperm donor didn’t live up to billing”
Toronto Star: “He was the perfect sperm donor. Then 26 families found out he wasn’t”
