A prolific sperm donor who claims to have fathered 180 children around the world will not be able to have his name on one of his children’s birth certificates.
Robert Albon, who calls himself Joe Donor and advertises on Facebook and Instagram, offers sperm donation in several unlicensed ways.
He made a declaration of parentage application to the Family Court after discovering a couple he donated sperm to had named the mother’s partner as the father on the baby’s birth certificate.
The Family Court’s top judge, Sir Andrew McFarlane, dismissed Albon’s application and said: “The facts of this case are extreme”.
It is agreed that Albon, who is originally from the United States and in his 50s, is the child’s biological father.
The child’s mother was in a lesbian relationship at the time of conception, but not married.
The couple paid Albon £100 in cash and a £150 Amazon gift card before she got pregnant via artificial insemination.
By the time the child was born, the mother’s partner had begun identifying as a trans man and was registered on the birth certificate as the father.
The pair never wanted Albon to play any part in the child’s life, but said they would eventually explain the child’s roots in an age-appropriate way.
It is extremely rare for a parent in a Family Court case to be publicly named in order to protect children from being identified.
However, BBC Wales successfully applied to lift the restriction on naming Albon, citing public interest.
He advertises openly on Facebook and Instagram and has spoken extensively about his experiences in media interviews and TV programmes.
In 2024, he told The Sun he had his own “sperm factory” and women paid him hundreds of pounds for his sperm.
Albon, who is adopted, made the point in court documents that not knowing the identity of his birth parents – and having what he considers an incorrect birth certificate himself – had “eroded his sense of self”.
He said he wanted to guard against the same thing happening to this child and was not seeking any responsibility or looking to spend time with the child.
However, Sir Andrew said it was likely that Albon might “seek to assert himself as an active parent” as he had done on a previous occasion.
He added: “The impetus for doing so would be entirely self-driven by Mr Albon’s views, and not moderated by any insight towards, or empathy for, the mother.”
A court report said the proceedings had caused the child’s mother “considerable anxiety” and it had been the “hardest experience of her life”.
In the judgment, Sir Andrew said: “I fully accept that ‘vulnerable’ is, sadly, an apt description of her position, both in terms of her internal resources and the situation in which she finds herself with respect to Mr Albon.”
He said Albon’s application was dismissed “on the ground that to grant it would be manifestly contrary to public policy”.
This is the third judgement from the Family Courts concerning the legal parentage of children involving sperm donated by Albon.
A judgment made in 2023, published in February 2025, said Albon had applied to be named on the birth certificate of another child and wanted its surname changed to match his.
Jonathan Furness KC rejected the case, saying it was not in the best interests of the child. He published the outcome to “protect women from the potential consequences of unregulated sperm donorship generally, but also from Joe Donor himself”, he added.
At the fact-finding hearing, Furness said Albon had initiated legal proceedings to support his immigration position to stay in the UK.
In May 2025 another judgment was published where Albon’s application for custody of two children was turned down. Mr Justice Poole said: “He seeks to control others to prove that he is right, to secure recognition, to get his own way and to serve his own ends.”
Sir Andrew said his recent judgment did not mean that all future applications by unregulated sperm donors to be recognised as fathers would be dismissed.
The way Albon donates sperm is unregulated, as it is not done through a licensed clinic.
There are no health checks, legal safeguards preventing the donor from claiming parental rights or limits on the number of children a donor’s sperm could be used to conceive.
UK regulations say that in licensed clinics, sperm from a single donor can only be used to create a maximum of 10 families.
In previous media interviews, Albon has said he donated because he wanted to help create life.
He claimed not to make any money from it and said he was lucky to break even on travel expenses.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority strongly recommends treatment at a licensed clinic where there are laws and guidance in place to protect and support all patients and donors.
“Using donor sperm from social media groups, websites or apps can have serious risks for the patient, donor and any children born,” it says.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
