Mother Warns of Risks After Son’s Progress Concerns Linked to Facebook Donor
A woman in teh United Kingdom is raising โฃconcerns about the potential risks โof unregulated donor insemination after her son, born via a donor she connected with on Facebook, exhibits developmental delays. โThe mother, identified asโข Coldman, underwent four inseminations at the donor’s home in Yorkshire to achieve pregnancy, ultimately giving birth to Felum Anthony Ryan โขinโข April 2022.
Coldman โฃrecounts making “several trips” โto the donor’s house over six months to collect โsamples. The insemination โprocess took place in a basement room described as resembling a waiting room, were she would wait 20 minutes after submission โฃbefore the donor would return.
While she successfully conceived, Coldman now expresses regret overโค the method, โciting a lack of medical โฃoversight, unknown health history of the donor, and potential legal and psychological risks. “I do notโ recommend this method,” she stated, adding she was never fullyโข aware of the donor’s background.
Currently, 2-year-old Felumโ does not communicate verbally and does not demonstrate typical danger awareness for hisโค age. coldman hasโ initiatedโ medical evaluations to determine โif โคhe is on the autism spectrum, though a โขdiagnosis is pending. She has already modified her โhome for his โขsafety, removingโค furniture from his room, and plans to pursue language therapies and hearing tests.
Coldman suspects a genetic โคlink between Felum’sโฃ development andโ the donor, โnoting she herself exhibits โno neurodivergent traits. This belief has been strengthened by contact with othre mothers who used the same donorโค and report similar developmental characteristics in thier children.
The case highlights the potential dangers of โฃseeking reproductive assistance outside of โestablishedโ healthcareโ systems. Coldman reiterates that this type of insemination “implies important risks and can have โserious long-termโข consequences.”