A man who claims to have fathered more than 180 children through sperm donation has been denied legal recognition as the father of a child born after he received a £150 Amazon gift card.
Robert Albon, an unregulated sperm donor in his mid-50s known as ‘Joe Donor’, has advertised his services on social media, boasting of fathering children across various countries including Australia and Argentina. Originally from the US, Albon started his unregulated sperm donation activities in 2013 before moving to England in 2020.
In October of last year, Albon sought to be legally acknowledged as the father of a child named N, born in 2021. The High Court in London heard that N’s mother, who had a relationship with a cisgender woman transitioning to male in 2019, identified Albon as a potential sperm donor.
Albon initially provided sperm to the couple for £100, but it did not lead to a pregnancy. After a successful second donation in exchange for a £150 Amazon gift card, N was conceived, and Albon was informed upon the child’s birth that it would be their last contact.
The birth certificate listed the mother’s partner as N’s father, but the couple separated in 2023. Despite a false declaration to the registrar, no legal action was taken by the police. In a separate case in May 2023, a family court in Middlesbrough rejected Albon’s request for increased contact with another child, CA, born following a similar arrangement.
A previous ruling highlighted Albon’s lack of empathy and controlling behavior, leading to the denial of his application to be recognized as N’s father due to public policy concerns. The judgment emphasized that Albon’s actions lacked moral principles and endorsing his activities would contradict public policy.
The court dismissed Albon’s application on the grounds of being contrary to public policy, confirming that the mother’s former partner is not N’s legal father. The judge deemed the case extreme, involving sperm donation on an unprecedented scale.
Connie Atkinson, a family law partner at Kingsley Napley who represented the mother in the case, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, emphasizing that while Albon is the biological father, it was not appropriate for him to claim legal parenthood rights.