Advocates call for public registry for sperm donors and offspring

Read story transcript

Recently, The Current aired a documentary, Not In Kansas Anymore, that followed three half-siblings who shared the same sperm donor. They teenagers connected for the first time by using an American private donor sibling registry. ​

Teens from same sperm donor find each other

8 years ago

Duration 0:41

These three teens all came from the same sperm donor in Atlanta, but they had never met.

The privately-run registry relies on donors and their offspring to voluntarily submit information. But advocates say there should be a mandatory public registry because there are important legal and public health benefits to tracking sperm donation.  

Vanessa Gruben tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti why she feels the government needs to establish a national registry for sperm donors and offspring.

Listen to the full conversation at the top of this web post.

This segment was produced by The Current's Sujata Berry and Josh Bloch.