header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Legal vacuum looms over unregulated sperm donation

25 July 2025
Issue: 8126 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Child law , Health & safety , Health , Regulatory
printer mail-detail
226379
Unregulated sperm donation is turning the dream of parenthood into a legal and medical minefield, Aysel Akhundova of Dawson Cornwell warns in NLJ this week

Operating outside the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, these informal arrangements expose families to disputes over legal parenthood, lack of medical screening, and psychological distress. Without the safeguards of licensed clinics, donors may claim parental rights, and children risk missing vital genetic information. Cases like ‘Joe Donor’ and Netflix’s The Man with 1000 Kids highlight the dangers of genetic clustering and legal ambiguity.

Akhundova calls for urgent reform: criminal sanctions for serial unregulated donors, public awareness campaigns, and improved access to licensed fertility services.

Family lawyers must guide clients through these risks and advocate for stronger protections. As the digital age accelerates, the law must catch up to protect the foundations of family life from being undermined before they begin.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll