THE RISE OF FACEBOOK BABIES

As hopeful parents turn to social media for a sperm donor, what are the risks?

- VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH

The cost of having a baby is skyrocketing in the UK, and for some parents-to-be, the price starts with getting pregnant. With one round of IVF costing up to

£5,000 and three vials from a sperm bank costing around £3,000, many potential parents are seeking alternative ways of having kids with a lower price tag.

Men advertising their sperm on social media groups are an increasingly attractive option for these parents, but it’s not risk-free. In May, it emerged that James MacDougall, 37, had been advertising his sperm to hopeful lesbian couples on social media without disclosing his status as a carrier of fragile X syndrome.

MacDougall’s family have described him as ‘kind-hearted’, saying he ‘just wanted to help women fulfil their dreams’, but there’s a significant risk that the 15 children conceived with his donor sperm may have learning difficulties.

With countless success stories out there, social media donors are an option for many. Woman’s Own speaks to two women who took that route.

‘We didn’t expect it to work’

Zoe Rhodes, 30, and her wife Katie, 26, found their sperm donor online. Since my partner Katie and I got together in October 2016, we had discussed starting a family in the future. We looked into fostering and adoption before we decided that using donor sperm would be our best option. But, seeing the price, I winced.

‘It looks expensive,’ I sighed to Katie. It was going to cost up to £3,000 just for one specimen, with no guarantee it would work.