Also known as: gamete donors · gamete donation · sperm donor · egg donor
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A provider of sperm or eggs for use in assisted reproduction. Legal parentage turns on compliance with statutory writing requirements or agreements rather than genetic contribution alone.
Gabriel Gonzalez provided sperm to Giana Greco at a fertility clinic. He prepared a letter outlining shared parenting but never signed it, while Greco signed an acceptance line. After the child's birth, Gonzalez sought custody. The court denied his petition because no compliant written agreement preserved his parental rights.
Gustavo Gutierrez and Genevieve Gardner executed an agreement addressing disposition of cryopreserved pre-zygotes created with his sperm. When their relationship ended, the agreement controlled allocation. The court enforced the document as binding on the gamete donor's rights.
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Gordon Gray and his spouse, both women, used donor sperm for their child's conception. The state health department refused to list both spouses on the birth certificate. The Supreme Court required equal treatment of married same-sex couples in recording parentage.
George Garcia stored sperm before cancer treatment under an agreement with his wife. After his death she used the gametes to conceive. The court recognized the resulting child as his legal offspring for inheritance purposes.
Greenleaf Farms employee Elisa contributed ova to her former partner for twins. The couple raised the children together for years. After separation the court imposed support obligations on Elisa as a legal parent despite her gamete-donor status.
No. Under the controlling statute a sperm donor obtains no parental rights absent a written agreement that satisfies the statutory requirement. The writing must be executed by the donor to preserve paternity.
A signed document executed by the donor that expressly preserves parental rights meets the statute. Email exchanges or clinic forms lacking the donor's signature or explicit preservation language fall short.
No. The statute focuses on a pre-conception written agreement. Occasional visits or informal support after birth do not cure the absence of the required writing.
The statutory mechanism supplies a clear avenue for a donor to secure rights through a written agreement. Compliance with that mechanism satisfies due process.
…court rendered a written decision on July 11, 2002, finding that Elisa and Emily had rejected the option of using a private sperm donor because “[t]hey wanted the child to be raised exclusively by them as a couple.” The court further found that they intended to create a child and “acted in all respects as a family,” adding…