Doctor accuses Oregon clinic of illegally using his donated sperm for 17 children
An Oregon doctor is suing a fertility clinic for more than $5 million, after he says that sperm he donated resulted in the births of at least 17 unknown children.
In the lawsuit, Dr. Bryce Cleary said he donated sperm to a clinic at Oregon Health and Science University in 1989. He said the clinic promised that no more than five children would be conceived, that they would be born to mothers outside the Pacific Northwest, and that his identity was to remain anonymous.
But Cleary discovered through ancestry.com that he has at least 17 children, in addition to the four he has with his wife. The lawsuit claims many of those children live in Oregon, and that some unknowingly attended the same schools and churches.
Allysen Allee said she reached out to Cleary after discovering he was her father through ancestry.com.
"Knowing that you were a product of fraud against somebody else is emotionally overwhelming," Allee said.
"I can't be emotionally invested in all of these people," Cleary said. "And it's been very difficult."
Oregon Health and Science University said in a statement that it "treats any allegation of misconduct with the gravity it deserves," but added that it could not comment on the case because of patient privacy concerns.