Judge's sperm donor warning over man who 'fathered 180 children'

 

A sperm donor who claims to have fathered more than 180 children has been used by a judge to warn of the dangers of unregulated sperm donation.

Robert Charles Albon, who calls himself Joe Donor, claims to have fathered children all over the world from China to Australia after advertising online.

But using him as a donor turned into a "horror story" for a couple after he took them to court as he wanted parental rights over their child.

The BBC has approached Mr Albon for a response.

It is extremely rare for a parent in a family court case about children to be publicly identified but the family court judge said it was in the public interest in naming Mr Albon.

In his judgement, Jonathan Furness KC said he wanted to protect women from the possible consequences of unregulated sperm donorship and from using Mr Albon.

The baby in this case was conceived by syringe injection to a same-sex couple, although Mr Albon claimed to have had secret sex with the biological mother in the back of a car. That's a claim rejected by the judge.

Cardiff Family Court heard that Mr Albon, who is in his 50s, was a "stranger" to the child and has only met them for 10 minutes when a few weeks old for a "one-off" photo.

Mr Albon applied to the court for parental responsibility, to be named on the birth certificate and changes to the child's name.

Mr Albon wanted the child's non-biological mother to be called "auntie" rather than mother, despite the fact she had acted as a parent from birth.

Both mothers said the stress from the legal proceedings – which took more than two years - had been cited as a factor in the break down of their relationship.

The court heard the biological mother suffered from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts made worse by the case.

The judgement - made in 2023, but only just published - said Mr Albon claimed he wanted to "protect the welfare" of the child when he was actually "wholly self-centred".

Women and children appear to be almost a commodity to him as he sets about increasing the number of his children around the globe – China, USA, Argentina, Australia and UK to name just some of the countries where he has fathered children."

The judge in this case found "no positive welfare benefit in changing the child's name" and that direct contact between him and the child would not be in the child's best interests.

Neither mother opposed "letterbox contact" so Mr Albon can send an annual card or email to be retained for when the child is of an age to understand who it is from.

Mr Albon advertises on social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram and donates through various methods including artificial insemination and more natural methods like sexual intercourse.

In an interview with The Sun last August, he said: "I've had about 180 live births and I've met about 60 of them."

"I might never see a lot of them, this has to do with the child's mothers relationship… it's my preference to have some sort of relationship."