At least a dozen children diagnosed with autism were conceived with sperm from the same donor, a reportedly unprecedented phenomenon that spurred a lawsuit.
Danielle Rizzo with her boys, ages 6 and 7, in Streamwood, Ill. After finding out her sons were part of an autism cluster, she sued the sperm bank and its parent company.
Autism, which affects an estimated 1 of 59 children in the United States, is a"spectrum disorder" characterized by difficulties navigating social situations and restricted or repetitive behavior. Some people who have it never speak and need daily care, while others, like actress Darryl Hannah and Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, are highly successful in their fields. In recent years a growing movement has been challenging the notion that autism is a disorder at all.
Rizzo says they were eager to start their family and decided that Rizzo, younger by two years, would carry the baby. For months, the couple scoured online profiles to find just the right sperm donor.He was blond and blue-eyed, 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, and appeared to be smart and accomplished. His profile said he had a master's degree and was working as a medical photographer. His hobbies included long-distance running, reading and art.
"The screaming, the hitting, the yelling, the pinching, the punching, the pulling my hair when I'm driving," she said, describing her days. After three nannies quit, Rizzo left her job, and her relationship collapsed. Donor H898′s sperm was offered through multiple sources. According to the mothers, court documents and genetic testing through 23andMe and, he sold anonymously to at least four sperm banks , donated to a high-end agency that matches parents with donors they can meet face-to-face, and offered his sperm for a low fee or even free on sites such asHis profile stood out in many ways, women who used his sperm said, citing the thoughtful answers in his essays and audio interview.
Officials from Daxor, Idant's former parent company, said in a statement that Rizzo's lawsuit was"meritless." In court filings, Idant attorneys called the accusations by Rizzo"inflammatory, specious and dangerous," and said her claims did not establish that the company"knew any of the alleged representations to be false."
"We would deny participation to a donor in our program if he or any first-degree relative had a history of autism," the company said.Desperate for help, Rizzo Googled"world renowned geneticist" and"autism" and came up with the University of Toronto's Stephen Scherer's name on several research papers and a YouTube video.
Most mutations associated with autism do not definitively cause the condition; they only increase someone's risk. But, Scherer says, an intriguing subset of"high impact" genes - estimated to be involved in 5 to 20 percent of all autism cases - appears to directly result in autism. Rizzo's sons can speak, and the older is starting to read and write. Doctors have told her they are somewhere in the middle of the autism spectrum.
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