London Sperm Bank, the biggest sperm bank in Britain, has been turning away donors with neurological conditions like dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger syndrome and autism - and campaigners are condemning this move as eugenics, the Daily Mail reported.
The ban was put in place to "minimize the risk of transmitting common genetic diseases or malformations to any children born," according to The Guardian.
Fred Fisher, an Oxford graduate who wanted to be a donor, was rejected by the sperm bank in November because he was dyslexic.
"I was really taken aback to see dyslexia listed as a neurological disease," the 30-year-old man told The Guardian. "I'd never thought they would turn people way for having dyslexia, especially given how important we are told science and entrepreneurship are these days."
Fisher said this practice is considered eugenics - improving the quality of human population by discouraging the propagation of genes with undesirable traits. He added that dyslexia is not a liability. "Dyslexic people make a great contribution to the world" for their creativity and ability to think outside the box, he said.
The chairman of The Dyslexia Foundation, Steve O'Brien, agrees.
"This is eugenics. It's trying to say that dyslexics shouldn't be in society," O'Brien said. "But we're moving into a visually dominated world of Instagram and YouTube where given the right tools it is no longer an issue, because people with dyslexia are right-brained often with hyper-visual skills."
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) asked London Sperm Bank to explain its actions and is now reviewing its policies.
"The HFEA has never required or endorsed prohibiting people with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD and other disorders from becoming sperm donors," the agency said, according to The Guardian. "The clinic's HFEA inspector is clarifying our requirements for selecting donors with the centre, and is reviewing all the exemptions cited in the centre's materials, to ensure that all future donors are treated fairly and in accordance with the law."
Vanessa Smith, quality manager of the JD Healthcare Group, the company that runs London Sperm Bank, admitted that banning donors with certain neurological conditions was written in the sperm bank's leaflet, but she added that "the policy is under review."
"There may be some genetic component to it. But we are going to review all the recent literature about it," Smith said.
