A 34-year-old woman from New York is hoping to access the medical records of her biological father, a sperm donor, after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Laura High was 14 years old when she found out the truth from her parents. She was a donor-conceived child with a sperm donor from New York City. Years later, when High got engaged, she decided to take a DNA test to ensure that the man she was about to marry was not, in fact, a biological sibling.
"I live in the same city that my donor was donating," High said in an interview with Good Morning America. "So, chances are the majority of my siblings are probably in New York City."
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Finding biological siblings with similar health issues
With her DNA results, High learned she had no biological links to her fiance but found three other birth siblings. She also learned that they have similar genetic health issues. However, High's doctor said that to get a more accurate treatment, they have to prove these genetic links by producing the medical records of her biological dad.
High and her siblings tried to find their sperm donor to give themselves more chances of managing or curing their condition. When they succeeded in locating their dad, he refused to divulge his medical information. His help would have made it easier for High's doctors to perform medical interventions if needed and if their tumors worsened.
In an interview with Distractify, High said her birth father was an OBGYN whose clinic was opposite the fertility clinic her parents visited. This was in the 1980s when the industry was largely unregulated. Essentially, she learned that her sperm donor was not the profile promised to her parents.
She and her siblings also estimated that their sperm donor likely donated six times within their birth years. However, he might have overly donated 50 more since he is friends with the fertility operator, and they have yet to discover other siblings.
The Donor Conceived Person Protection Act
High said that she has not yet reached a point where her brain tumor had to be surgically removed, and she has been taking treatments that hopefully have reduced the tumor's size. But her experience has made her a staunch advocate for the bill, Donor Conceived Person Protection Act, which is still under assessment by the New York Senate's Health Committee before transmitting it to the governor's office.
If signed into law in New York, the Donor Conceived Person Protection Act would save many other kids who need to access the records of their biological parents for the sake of their own health. Sen. Patrick Gallivan, who sponsored the legislation, also said that this would prevent fertility fraud and other donor issues that have plagued the fertility industry and victimized many families for decades.
