A Melbourne mum is in turmoil after her anonymous sperm donor has pulled the plug on her chances of having another child.
Nicole Wright used her eggs and a sperm donor to have her 13-month-old baby, Swayze, and was hoping to conceive again in the near future.
The single mum expressed it was her dream to give her son a sibling, but her hopes have been ripped away from her, by a decision that she had no control over.
Nicole said: “I feel when I’m gone, he will be left alone and so I wanted to have a little brother or sister so they could grow up together.”
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Due to the decision the sperm donor has made to opt out of the process, the 40-year-old says her eggs are now expected to be destroyed.
She continued: “You are taking my future away, you are taking my son’s future.
“It’s half of me and I don’t get a say.”
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A law reform was put in place in Victoria to prevent this very situation.
The saddest news is that this law only applies to embryos that were created on or after August 15, 2022.
Fertility lawyer, Sarah Jefford, said: “Unless the donor is willing to sign a fresh consent and allow the use of those embryos, the people in this situation are lost.
“They are not allowed to use the embryos and there is no way around that.”
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Nicole’s only hope now is for the donor to have a change of heart after seeing her pleas online; she wants to make him aware of the impact his decision has had on her family.
She said: ‘It’s not just a simple case of stopping his sperm from being used.
“It’s already been used, it’s already created life.”
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The IVF medical centre director, Fleur Cattral, has said: “We must follow the legislation and follow Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority’s advice, so it’s extremely distressing for patients to be in this situation.”
Nicole isn’t the only person using this system to conceive a child. Around 3,000 single women in Australia, have a baby using a sperm donor every year.
Mia Williams