Quebec looking to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
The series by Noovo Info, called "Pere 100 enfants," showed that the trio served as sperm donors for women across Quebec who turned to the internet to try to get pregnant.
Quebec's public health director, Dr. Luc Boileau, said in an interview with Noovo Info on Monday that he was "shocked" by the documentary. He said he would like to minimize the risks of artificial insemination by setting a maximum number of donations per donor, which other countries have already done, including France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
According to the documentary by journalists Marie-Christine Bergeron and Maxime Landry, the three Quebec men fathered at least 600 children. Two of the donors also carry a rare hereditary genetic disorder affecting the liver that could be passed down to the children.
"On the Canadian scene, no one saw this coming either. This is a new situation," Boileau said, adding that he is in talks with his counterparts at Health Canada to examine setting new limits for donors.
Boileau also said public health is looking into how it can inform the mothers involved, as well as their children so that they're aware they are genetically linked to hundreds of half-brothers and half-sisters "to reduce the risk of inbreeding."
Fathering hundreds of children a 'public health issue': Dubé
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé reacted to the Noovo's reporting on Tuesday, saying the documentary reveals a "public health issue."
"I think it's especially worrying for parents who have used the procreation service, to know: 'Could my boy or girl be in contact with one of the other children?' That's what's worrying in terms of public health," he told a press scrum at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The minister says he will meet with Boileau on Wednesday to see what can be done. "We're going to find solutions," said Dubé, evoking the idea of a "regulatory response."
Opposition parties also called on the CAQ government to put an end to what the Quebec Liberal Party described as the "Wild West" of sperm donation.
With files from Noovo Info and The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Flammable kids' sleepwear, salmonella-contaminated chips: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued recalls for various items this week, including kids' bassinets, chips, and stoves. Here's what to watch out for.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
U.S. ambassador 'not aware' of any plans for Trudeau-Trump meeting
Canada's Ambassador to the United States says she's 'not aware' of any plans for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with former U.S. president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump before the November American election.
Sentencing trial set to begin for Florida man who executed 5 women at a bank in 2019
Zephen Xaver walked into a central Florida bank in 2019, fatally shot five women and then called police to tell them what he did. Now 12 jurors will decide whether the 27-year-old former prison guard trainee is sentenced to death or life without parole.
'How do you get hypothermia in a prison?' Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates
The Virginia State Police investigator seemed puzzled about what the inmate was describing: "unbearable" conditions at a prison so cold that toilet water would freeze over and inmates were repeatedly treated for hypothermia.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
What we've learned so far in the Trump hush money trial and what to watch for as it wraps up
Testimony in the hush money trial of Donald Trump is set to conclude in the coming days, putting the landmark case on track for jury deliberations that will determine whether it ends in a mistrial, an acquittal — or the first-ever felony conviction of a former American president.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.