A woman has sued a fertility doctor in Washington, alleging he secretly used his sperm for her artificial insemination procedure 34 years ago.
Sharon Hayes, now 67, from Hauser in the US state of Idaho, claims that she sought fertility treatment from Dr David R Claypool, an obstetrician and gynaecologist based in Spokane, Washington, back in 1989. This decision was made after she and her then-husband experienced difficulties in conceiving, according to a report in the Associated Press.
In a complaint filed on Wednesday at the Spokane County Superior Court, Ms Hayes revealed her preference for an anonymous donor. However, Dr Claypool allegedly provided deceptive information, assuring her that the donor selection would be based on her specified traits such as hair and eye colour. He assured that the chosen donors would undergo health and genetic screenings.
According to the lawsuit, for each of several treatments, Dr Claypool charged $100 in cash, claiming these funds were meant for the college or medical students supposedly providing the sperm.
It wasn't until last year that her 33-year-old daughter, Brianna Hayes, who was born from this procedure, discovered the identity of her biological father after submitting her DNA to the genetic testing and ancestry website, 23andMe.
Brianna Hayes made another startling discovery that she had a minimum of 16 other half-siblings in the vicinity. It remains uncertain whether any other women are currently pursuing legal actions against Claypool.
In her statement, Brianna Hayes said, “It's been an identity crisis, for sure. This was hidden from me my whole life. I felt traumatised for my mom, and the fact that I'm a product of his actions is off-putting.”
During a conversation with one of his previous patients, Dr David R Claypool remarked, "I know people are very happy. But this is the first I've heard of anything in 40 years.”
