Sperm donors had no idea their secrets would be revealed but their children have a right to know, too

Both the young medical students who provided their sperm with a promise of secrecy and the children they fathered deserve equal sympathy and respect, writes Jackie Sinnerton.

Having a baby is something that comes so easily to some but for others it is an uphill battle that becomes all-consuming and hijacks lives. Infertility is crippling and cruel. It brings guilt, grief and depression.

Without advancements in fertility medicine the modern woman would be forced to accept childlessness and live with her yearning just as women did in years gone by.

Dr John Hennessey.

Thankfully, over the decades brilliant doctors like Dr John Hennessey, who founded the Queensland Fertility Group and gave the state its first IVF twins, have given hope to couples and brought joy to thousands by giving them the baby they never believed possible.

His donor conception program that began in a clinic in Brisbane in the early late 70s and 80s has lasted 45 years and helped countless couples.

There is a learning curve in all medical breakthroughs and procedures that seem raw and rough to us in a modern world were the best practices of the time.

But for all the stunning science that came out of the Wickham Terrace clinic 40 years ago there is unexpected fallout.

The babies that were created through their donor conception procedures are now adults and shouting from the rooftops.

Kerri Favarato is one of them and she is not happy. She says she feels let down by the lack of transparency from the clinic about her origins.

She says that she feels it was all about science and not enough thought for the humans that were created.

Kerri Favarato with her biological father Dr Donald “Digger” Whittaker.

The young medical students who donated sperm in the name of science and were promised their identities would remain a secret are now living in fear of a knock on the door from those they helped conceive.

One of those doctors was openly anxious when he spoke to Saturday Courier-Mail, admitting he had wiped out all his social media. There was a genuine fear in his eyes that he would be exposed.

Did the clinic put too much focus on the childless couples and making their dreams come true? Was there enough thought about what the sperm donations would mean for the lives of the medical students who would one day be the state’s leading doctors?

Hindsight is 20/20.

There is a rising movement of donor-conceived people who are taking to their keyboards and relentlessly using DNA websites to seek out their donor fathers.

They say it is a human right to know where you came from.

It’s unstoppable and has changed the landscape of donation conception.

The secrets are out.