1974, in a Parisian gynecological practice.
The bell rings in the next room.
The woman lying on the examination couch believes it is the sperm donor, a medical student of Italian descent.
Her husband is standing near her.
The gynecologist comes out and comes back a few moments later with a vial filled with gametes to inseminate them into his patient's vagina.
After four attempts, this time it's the right one: nine months later, she finds her gynecologist for childbirth. "He arrived with his leather jacket, he smelled good, he was the hero who was going to give birth to the baby". This memory of the mother, told by the daughter, Pauline *, the “baby” of today 47 years old, resurfaced when the parents learned that the involvement of the gynecologist in the procreation process went beyond the limits of their imagination. .
Now deceased, this gynecologist would have actually used his own sperm to inseminate Pauline's mother, and probably other patients, revealed Franceinfo on Tuesday.
DNA tests, these kits banned in France but accessible in a few clicks on American sites like MyHeritage.fr, have enabled Pauline and two other women from the PMAnonyme association to trace the thread to their real parent: the gynecologists of their mothers.
The National Council of the Order of Physicians has been alerted.
Are these cases isolated?
Not far from here.
These three cases reveal an ancient practice that was actually very common in the 1960s and 1970s. When it was not anonymous donors who provided fresh sperm, the gynecologists did it themselves.
And not just in France: several similar cases have arisen in the United States and the Netherlands.
“It was almost a system.
This poses an ethical and deontological problem because they have betrayed the parents' trust, ”criticizes Blandine, co-president of the PMAnonyme association.
For gynecologists, the business of insemination was very lucrative.
Everyone set their price, but some performed insemination at the cost of a car.
Pauline's parents paid the equivalent of a month's salary for each attempt.
When did this practice start?
Unofficially after WWII. Sperm donation began to be regulated in France in 1973, with the creation of Cecos (Center for the Study and Conservation of Eggs and Human Sperm). In parallel, the freezing of sperm makes its appearance. However, many parents wishing to have children are suspicious of it, and the insemination of fresh semen in the gynecological practice continues.
“In 1974, the Cecos were open but for my parents, the freezing was worrying,” explains Pauline.
They had absolute confidence in this gynecologist of about 50, who was also that of my godfather's wife.
He was reassuring, human.
They built their parenthood with the image of the medical student of Italian origin, like my father.
For 46 years, we have all told each other this family story, which was just a lie.
"
It was not until 1994 to legislate on this subject: the first law on bioethics provided a precise legal framework for gamete donation, putting an end to this unregulated, almost artisanal practice.
Nowadays, the donor no longer receives remuneration, and must be no more than 45 years old.
What problems does it pose?
Beyond the ethical and deontological problem posed by gynecologists' sperm donation without the knowledge of their patients, this process was extremely dangerous in the 1980s, with the onset of the AIDS epidemic.
It also raises the question of the increased risks of inbreeding.
In its alert letter to the Order of Physicians, the PMAnonyme association mentions three gynecologists who used the same donors for 20 years, twice a week in one case.
"I know that we are nine from the same donor, in the association there is also a group of 32 people," says Blandine.
In fact, you have to add a zero behind these numbers since 90% of people conceived this way ignore it.
"
To assert it, the co-chair is based on a European study of 2002, according to which only 8.6% of children resulting from donated gametes know it.
Because at the time, doctors kept telling their patients not to say anything.
And the practice of DNA tests is not part of French culture.
To read also "It is important to know where one comes from": sperm donor, Sylvain says yes to the lifting of anonymity
Today, a donor can father a maximum of ten children, in order to avoid consanguineous marriages in a region.
Soon, the gray areas for these people from assisted reproduction will be refined: they will have access to the identity of the donor from September 1, 2022.
* Loan first name
