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

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll