Mentally Ill Sperm Donor Busted

A Georgia sperm bank is in an uphill battle — one of its donors admitted he lied about his health.

Ten families are suing Athens-based Xytex Corp. after learning its sperm donor is schizophrenic, suffers from other mental health disorders, and has an arrest record, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“No one should be using the honor system as a means of determining whether a person is suitable to donate gametes,” said one mom.

At least 36 children in Canada, the U.S., and Britain are believed to be the offspring of Chris Aggeles, who has admitted to the conspiracy. The lawsuits allege the company failed to verify information the donor provided about himself — Aggeles’ donor profile on Xytex’s website showed him to have an IQ of 160, the same as Einstein’s. It also said he was healthy, highly educated, and without mental illness.

He added that he had a bachelor’s degree and a master’s, and was working on a Ph.D.

While he should have been an anonymous donor, Xytex mistakenly revealed Aggeles’ identity in a 2014 email in an apparent privacy breach, the Toronto Star reported. The revelation led to research by a group of mothers — who discovered he was nothing like the man advertised in Xytex’s online donor catalogue.

Xytex maintains it has done nothing wrong and says it has always been upfront about letting would-be parents know that it does not verify information provided by men who sell sperm to the company, according to the Toronto Star.

Related: When Fertility Turns Fraudulent

San Francisco lawyer Nancy Hersh, who represents most of the families suing Xytex, said the company has never admitted there are problems with Aggeles — even though it promises on its website to make parents aware of any medically significant information it learns about donors.

One mother, who has a son, age nine, created from Aggeles’ sperm, told the Star that sperm banks need to do more checking into donors’ background.

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“It should be obvious by now that the honor system is a highly ineffective way to verify information. No one should be using the honor system as a means of determining whether a person is suitable to donate gametes,” she said.