’Baby factory’ stories spark search for late donor’s children

A young med student killed in a car crash decades ago had donated sperm to Brisbane’s “baby factory”, and his family hopes the children he fathered will make themselves known.

The family of a Queensland medical student killed in a crash months after he began anonymous sperm donations have revealed their decades of longing for a knock on the door from the children he helped conceive.

Bruce Johnston was 22, handsome, intelligent, well-educated, sporty and adventurous – a gold-standard donor candidate.

He was one of the many University of Queensland medical students who donated sperm to a groundbreaking fertility clinic which was branded a “baby factory”.

His donations were made in 1983 and 1984 to the clinic at Brisbane’s Wickham Terrace run by brilliant fertility specialist John Hennessey.

Tragically, in his fourth year of medicine Bruce was killed in a car crash.

In his early 20s, he was too young to have built a family of his own.

While many medics live in fear of being “outed”, Bruce Johnston’s sister said her family yearned for an out-of-the-blue knock on the door from someone saying “I think Bruce is my father”.

Bruce Johnston was a strapping med student.

Bruce would be 60 this year, and his younger sister Deb Evans, at 53, is revealing her family’s hopes with The Sunday Mail that all of his siblings may one day find and get to meet someone who was fathered by their brother.

“We would dearly love to have that piece of him in our lives,” a teary Ms Evans said.

“We would understand if they didn’t want to connect with us, but it would bring us a lot of peace if we knew who was out there.

“There is never a day that goes past I don’t think of Bruce and I know that he would want us to do this for him.

“It’s surreal, we are out of our comfort zone but we feel we have no choice but to try to reach out.”

Bruce’s older brother Scott is 62, and his younger brother David is 57.

All of the siblings have children but no grandchildren.

“I think it’s important to find out the history so we can inform our children and any future generations,” Ms Evans said.

Bruce Johnston’s sister Deb Evans today. Picture: Matthew Poon

The family is unaware of how many times Bruce’s specimens would have been used to help childless couples conceive, but his donations spanned two years and the clinic would certainly have considered they had hit the genetic jackpot with the young man.

Di McCarthy, a former nurse at the clinic, has reported that one donation could be used for several women and she knew of no formal records being kept.

A Sunday Mail investigation revealed that pioneering fertility doctors gave lectures at the university in the late 1970s and 1980s, encouraging the students to help progress medicine by anonymously donating sperm.

Decades later, those students – who are now among Queensland’s top doctors – are living in fear of getting a knock on their door from children they helped conceive.

DNA advancements have made it possible to find donors through wide-reaching members of any family.

Brisbane woman Kerri Favarato, who was fathered by a UQ medical student, said she believed the clinic was a “baby factory” and was disgusted by the clinic’s process of donors leaving donations in a car park hole-in-the wall where they would pick up a $10 cash payment.

Bruce Johnston as an infant

The Johnston family was originally from Gladstone, and Bruce boarded at Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) where he loved sports and was a member of the swim team.

He attended the University of Queensland from 1981 until his death in 1984.

The family eventually moved to Brisbane.

“Bruce really wanted to be a doctor and we were all very proud of him,” Ms Evans said.

“He wasn’t exactly the studious type but worked hard enough to pass his exams.

“He loved life and was a bright spark.

“He loved socialising and was always up for a prank.

“One of his colleagues told us that Bruce would likely work for Doctors Without Borders.

“That was Bruce.

“He was always thinking out of the box and thinking of others.

“He had a big heart.”

His sister said Bruce confided to his older brother before he died that he had donated sperm for two years.

“I suppose we were a bit shocked, but in a way, it was so like Bruce,” she said.

“He was a progressive. He loved children and would definitely have had a family if he had lived longer.”

Ms Evans said that the process of seeking out any donor children was an emotional time, as it brought back so many memories of Bruce, who was so loved.

Bruce Johnston’s student ID

DONOR PROFILE

Bruce Johnston

AGE: 21

LOCATION: Brisbane

JOB: Medical student

EDUCATION: Private boarding school

Height: 180 cm

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Brown

Health: Fit and sporty

Interests: Plays keyboard in rock band, swimming, sailing

CAN YOU HELP?

Bruce Johnston was a strikingly handsome young man who was sporty, popular and intelligent. As a University of Queensland medical student he donated sperm in 1983 and 1984 to a pioneering Wickham Terrace fertility clinic. If you know anyone who could be one of Bruce’s donor-conceived offspring please email Jackie Sinnerton.