Website claims birth of first baby conceived from sperm bought on internet

THE first baby to be conceived from sperm selected on the internet has been born, it was announced yesterday.

John Gonzalez, founder of the ManNotIncluded.com website, said a healthy baby boy was born in Britain yesterday after his parents bought sperm from the site.

He claimed the 10lb 2oz child was the first to be born in the world using sperm chosen on the internet.

Another baby to a lesbian couple who signed up to the site is due to be born in the next few weeks.

Mr Gonzalez said 19 women who used the website were pregnant, mostly partners in gay couples and single heterosexual women.

He said the birth validated the work of the site, which has been widely criticised by family and medical ethics groups.

"We are delighted at the fantastic news that the first baby has been born as a direct result of using our ground-breaking service. MNI is about giving all women the chance to have children without fear of prejudice or discrimination," Mr Gonzalez said.

The couple, who are from the south east of England and do not want to be named, turned to the website after repeated failed attempts at IVF and artificial insemination.

Mr Gonzalez said both mother and baby were doing well and had returned home.

The MNI website launched a year ago and has more than 5,500 anonymous male donors.

Couples pay a basic registration fee of €1,070 plus €114 for three internet searches which allows them to access the database of sperm donors.

Three donors are selected before prospective parents speak to a counsellor who provides information on personality traits as well as physical details. From this shortlist, the ideal donor is selected.

Critics say the site is unsafe and takes advantage of desperate wannabe parents. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said it was not appropriate for it to comment on the birth of the baby. A spokeswoman said the authority had already expressed concern over the lack of adequate screening and potentially misleading legal advice from web-based fresh sperm donation services.

The British Medical Ethics Alliance called for the MNI website to be shut down because it led to the "trivialisation and commercialisation of fertility treatment".

A spokesman said: "This website is a gross abuse and commercialisation of fertility care which has consequences far beyond the practice of simply buying sperm."