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Snoods

Trusted Member
A man billed as a “perfect donor” by a sperm bank turned out to be a mentally ill felon whose lies on his donor application weren’t uncovered for more than a decade, according to families who are now terrified for their children’s futures.

On its website, Georgia-based firm Xytex described Donor 9623 as a completely healthy man with an IQ of 160 who was working on a PhD in neuroscience engineering, the Toronto Star reports.

In reality, he was college dropout Chris Aggeles, a 39-year-old man who has been diagnosed with bipolar and narcissistic personality disorders and schizophrenia and has spent time in prison for burglary.

His sperm was used to create at least 36 children in Canada, the US and the UK between 2000 and 2014.

Families discovered his identity after Xytex accidentally included his name in an email, and they Googled his name.

(Three Canadian families are suing Xytex with more possibly to follow). The lawsuit, which notes schizophrenia can be hereditary, alleges Xytex allowed Aggeles to keep selling his sperm even after problems surfaced.

Whoopsie.

I'm not trying to be mean, but weren't the prospective parents able to see a picture of this guy? He would have gone to the :wtf: stack immediately if it were me.

The fertile felon.
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http://kfor.com/2016/04/15/sperm-banks-perfect-donor-was-mentally-ill-fathered-36-kids/
 
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The parents were probably like "Well, we can deal with a long head, no discernible jawline, and braces will fix those teeth, because look at the trade off! Our son/daughter will be a brilliant musician/neuroscientist with numerous degrees, many leather bound books, and a house that smells of rich mahogany! What's more important?"

Those poor kids are screwed.
 
“You can rest easy knowing right up front (that) every Xytex donor ranks in the top 1% of the population in health and wellness,” Xytex’s website boasts.


Xytex tests donors and their sperm for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis, according to the website. The company says it requires a physical exam, psychological exam, completion of an extensive questionnaire that delves into personal and family medical history, and genetic testing for a number of conditions, including cystic fibrosis.
Donors must update their medical history and undergo a physical examination every six months, the website says.

As well, Xytex is compliant with Health Canada regulations, which require additional testing for conditions such as chlamydia and gonorrhea.
The donor’s full profile, an archived copy of which can still be found on Xytex’s website, states he has an IQ of 160 (the same as Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking), bachelor’s and master’s degrees in neuroscience and is pursuing a PhD.


He has received international acclaim for his talent as a drummer, it says.

Included in the profile is a six-page health questionnaire that asks whether he or any blood relative has any of 143 medical conditions. Donor 9623 answers no to all but one; his father is colour blind. Specifically asked if he has schizophrenia or manic depression (bipolar disorder), 9623 responds “no.”


For an extra fee, prospective families could download an audio interview of 9623, conducted by Xytex corporate donor counsellor Mary Hartley, who praises him as the “perfect donor.”

Obtained by the Star, the 2006 recording portrays an articulate and impressive-sounding young man who says he speaks five languages, is studying artificial intelligence and plans on becoming a professor of biomedical robotics at a medical school.

He says he reads four or five books a month (“non-fiction mostly”) and tells of once winning a pizza party at Pizza Hut because he read 300 books in a single month.

Commenting on his motivation to donate, 9623 says: “Sure, at first the money is definitely an attraction. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t, but what really has kept me coming is the fact that I know that I am helping … to give parents who are very eager to have a child one of the greatest gifts in the world, their child. I can’t deny the power of that.”
The interview was not available when Collins chose 9623. The written profile was nevertheless enough to sell her on him.

She admits there was one sentence that gave her pause: “The medical and social history was provided by the donor and cannot be verified for accuracy.”

Collins says she was concerned enough to call Xytex and alleges that her misgivings were allayed when a company representative told her: “We do all of our own internal testing to the degree that you will know more about your donor than your own partner.”
A U.S. mom was the first to spot trouble when she stumbled across a YouTube video of a young woman describing her struggles with schizophrenia. In 2012, an individual by the name of Chris Aggeles added this comment to the video, which has since been taken down:

“I have schizophrenia, and the ‘hearing voices’ is kind of hard to explain, but here goes: so I will be thinking something like, what I am going to make for dinner, and it’s like my thought gets interrupted by a voice that tells me something that usually has nothing to do with what I was just thinking. It’s usually mean, and will say things that are derogatory and demeaning to me.”

Hersh says she interviewed Aggeles while preparing the first lawsuit against Xytex and that he acknowledged there were misrepresentations in his profile.

Through public record searches, the Star has verified Aggeles’ donor profile contained incorrect information and has discovered additional details about his mental health, criminal past, education and work history.

In an open letter posted on the company’s website last April, president Kevin O’Brien indicated Xytex relies on the honour system when it comes to collecting medical and social histories of donors. Xytex has always been upfront about letting would-be parents know the company does not corroborate such information, he said.

“He (Aggeles) reported a good health history and stated in his application that he had no physical or medical impairments. This information was passed on to the couple, who were clearly informed the representations were reported by the donor and were not verified by Xytex,” O’Brien wrote, referring to Collins and Hanson.
http://www.thestar.com/life/health_...onor-then-26-families-found-out-he-wasnt.html

 
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I think the parents are more worried about the hereditary mental illnesses, and I don't blame them. It's pretty fucked up for him to lie about that to parents who are already going through a rough time trying to have a child, and are turning to a sperm donor for help.

Of course the parents will love their child unconditionally (hopefully), but this had to have been a shock for them to learn.

These two quotes from TheMorningStar's article above are certainly eye-opening. Xytex admits upfront the medical and social history of donors are NOT verified for accuracy. So, buyer beware. Anybody could make up anything, and obviously do.

The interview was not available when Collins chose 9623. The written profile was nevertheless enough to sell her on him.

She admits there was one sentence that gave her pause: “The medical and social history was provided by the donor and cannot be verified for accuracy.”

In an open letter posted on the company’s website last April, president Kevin O’Brien indicated Xytex relies on the honour system when it comes to collecting medical and social histories of donors. Xytex has always been upfront about letting would be parents know the company does not corroborate such information, he said.
 
The company says now shit can't be verified, yet they have this huge spheel about how the histories of all these people are thoroughly investigated and they tell parents up front that they interview the donors and give their word as to the donors greatness. You can't do allllll that and then turn around and say, "whoa we're not culpable, this is all honor system and the parents know it and know the total crapshoot gamble they're taking with our company!"

It’s usually mean, and will say things that are derogatory and demeaning to me.”

At least he's hearing what he deserves to hear. I'd hate for him to be imagining compliments, even if that's the only way he'd ever receive one in his miserable, dishonest, nutter life. Fuck this guy.

Hope this company is bankrupted by these lawsuits and people lose their jobs.
 
The company says now shit can't be verified, yet they have this huge spheel about how the histories of all these people are thoroughly investigated and they tell parents up front that they interview the donors and give their word as to the donors greatness. You can't do allllll that and then turn around and say, "whoa we're not culpable, this is all honor system and the parents know it and know the total crapshoot gamble they're taking with our company!"



At least he's hearing what he deserves to hear. I'd hate for him to be imagining compliments, even if that's the only way he'd ever receive one in his miserable, dishonest, nutter life. Fuck this guy.

Hope this company is bankrupted by these lawsuits and people lose their jobs.

Yes, I agree with this too.
 
I wouldn't be too worried. The mental illnesses are of a slight concern, but by no means a real, quantifiable risk either.

We don't currently gene test, ala Gattaca (thank fuck) so I'd be less worried, as a prospective parent of the sperm donor having schizophrenia, than I would be of the donor having the hereditary genes for cystic fibrosis, or breast cancer, or dementia or muscular dystrophy or a million other diseases and conditions.

Schizophrenia and narcissistic personality disorder are totally manageable with the right medical support and are by no means, a guarantee that they'll be inherited by the baby.

How about, be grateful because if it wasnt for this man's generosity, these parents would never have become parents.

Sperm or egg donorship should never be about creating a designer baby. And this stigma against mental illness needs to stop.

People suffering from mental health conditions shouldn't be vilified or feared or rejected.
 
I wouldn't be too worried. The mental illnesses are of a slight concern, but by no means a real, quantifiable risk either.

We don't currently gene test, ala Gattaca (thank fuck) so I'd be less worried, as a prospective parent of the sperm donor having schizophrenia, than I would be of the donor having the hereditary genes for cystic fibrosis, or breast cancer, or dementia or muscular dystrophy or a million other diseases and conditions.

Schizophrenia and narcissistic personality disorder are totally manageable with the right medical support and are by no means, a guarantee that they'll be inherited by the baby.

How about, be grateful because if it wasnt for this man's generosity, these parents would never have become parents.

Sperm or egg donorship should never be about creating a designer baby. And this stigma against mental illness needs to stop.

People suffering from mental health conditions shouldn't be vilified or feared or rejected.

The problem is that he LIED. Big lies. And you know if he told the truth, no parent would risk using his jizz. Sure it can be controlled with proper meds, if they take the meds, most do not, or not consistently enough.
Since the company admits it is honor system and their verification is a crock, then how many other liars have spread their seed?
 
The problem is that he LIED. Big lies. And you know if he told the truth, no parent would risk using his jizz. Sure it can be controlled with proper meds, if they take the meds, most do not, or not consistently enough.
Since the company admits it is honor system and their verification is a crock, then how many other liars have spread their seed?

The lying is a moral issue. Not a medical issue. And while I don't support his deceit given the circumstances, who of us have never lied, even specifically to omit information about ourselves we do not want to share, based on the chance of being unfairly judged or discriminated against or have it used against us with bullying? Its a core human trait, to lie and omit certain facts we don't feel confident or comfortable in sharing. Hanging him out to dry for doing it, is bloody rich, to be honest. I'd love to know just how saintlike all these parents and armchair warriors are, in comparison.

As for 'other liars who have spread their seed', what does that actually entail? Serious genetic issues are screened out, so that's not generally the concern. Everyone lies - so having sperm from a 'liar' means jack shit, just because this guy or someone else may be a convicted criminal, means jack shit. That's not passed on. Moral outrage because someone doesn't lead a pristine life and donates sperm is laughable, frankly.

The idea of parents refusing his sperm as a donor due to the idea of his schizophrenia is based solely on sheer ignorance and is frankly, a highly offensive notion.

The risks are low. Stupidly low. The risk of schizophrenia from a parent to a child is 8%. That means that any children born using this man's sperm, have an 8% chance of it being passed on. 82% will NOT get it. And that isn't even taking the mother's genetics into consideration. 82%. Honestly. Fucking excellent 'odds'.

Secondly, the cause of schizophrenia, along with many mental illnesses is not just biological. You can have a child who has one or both parents with it - and in order for that child to develop it themselves, comes down to a range of factors including the environment they're raised in, sociological factors and their psychological wellbeing during their formative years. Its not just a 'gene thing'.

Just like you can have people who develop schizophrenia without a familial history.

Now, like I mentioned before, there are plenty of genetic conditions that are far scarier to pass on, that cause actual, real limitations to the person suffering from it. Huntingdons Disease for instance. The child has a 50/50 chance there if one or both parents have the gene. That's a horrible condition to have and a much, much higher risk of passing on.

And as I said, reluctance to accept sperm donorship from a man who has schizophrenia is blatantly ignorant. Not only are the risks low, but IF the condition is developed, it is entirely manageable and most patients lead long, successful and happy lives. They won't die a miserable death from it. They won't have a shortened lifespan. They won't have constant pain. They won't have a lower IQ, etc etc etc.

Yes, its wrong that he lied. But it points volumes frankly with the drama that has come about because of it. Because people misunderstood schizophrenia, because mental illness is stigmatised and because people are hopelessly uneducated on the topic and believe the utter horseshit they see, hear and read about schizophrenia in pop culture, entertainment and in society.

Schizophrenia does NOT make someone a freak. Or dangerous. It does not limit the patients ability to have a 'normal' life like any of us. There's no such thing as 'split personalities' either. The condition simply means that when (and only when) the condition is untreated and thus, out of control, the patient can hallucinate, have delusional thoughts and confused thinking.

It does NOT mean they're thinking 'better grab a knife and go stabby mc stab stab on that person standing over there, because they're clearly the leader of the lizard people and stabbing them will uncover the truth about chemtrails!'

One in one hundred people will develop it during their lifetime. Its bloody common. One in 11 adults globally have type 2 diabetes. One in 6 have had or will have, plain old garden variety depression in their lifetime. See? Its common, not some weird condition that only a small % live with.

My issue with this story, is the fact that people are carrying on like pork chop's about this guy 'risking' passing his schizophrenia on. Its not leprosy. Its a common mental health condition that IS entirely manageable and should NOT be treated as something horrifying or shameful.

I am infertile at 33. If I decide to ever have a baby, I'll need a donor egg and a surrogate. And I, honestly, would not decline someone's absolutely beautiful generosity in giving me their eggs so I can experience motherhood, should they have schizophrenia.
 
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@sarahdownunder : you need to acknowledge that schizophrenia is only manageable if the sufferer accepts, acknowledges and understands the disorder, and takes medication. It's not unlike the woman recently featured on DD who was called a "tiger whisperer" and still mauled to death by a tiger: it only worked as long as the tiger agreed. (Hat tip to @buffetgirl.)

I started this comment with a long anecdote about personal experience with schizophrenic people of my acquaintance, including in laws, but why bother?

It is obvious that Mr. Aggeles faked his sperm donor dossier, did not acknowledge his mental health disorders or tell his true education or career. He LIED, not just about his illness but about his entire history. The people who bred from his sperm are fools for believing the stories without real verification, but they were entitled to the truth so they could be prepared for possible consequences of a hereditary disorder.

Schizophrenia can only be treated if the sufferer agrees to treatment.

Again, it's not because the donor was mentally ill, it is because he lied. If he was just a fellow of no great accomplishment, no diagnosed mental illness and no criminal record, he still lied about himself. He is a fraud. And the company didn't follow through on their claims of verification. The company is a fraud.
Your long statement about mental illness discrimination, genetic probabilities, treatment is moot.
I am not discriminating against him because he has a mental illness.
I am discriminating against him, and the company, because of the fraudulent claims.
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Th
My issue with this story, is the fact that people are carrying on like pork chop's about this guy 'risking' passing his schizophrenia on. Its not leprosy. Its a common mental health condition that IS entirely manageable and should NOT be treated as something horrifying or shameful.

I am infertile at 33. If I decide to ever have a baby, I'll need a donor egg and a surrogate. And I, honestly, would not decline someone's absolutely beautiful generosity in giving me their eggs so I can experience motherhood, should they have schizophrenia.

Your only option for motherhood is "donor egg and a surrogate"? Adoption or loving stepmother to young children is not a viable option? Because being a mother is not giving birth, it is nurturing and raising. And it does not need to start with a baby.
Schizophrenia is definitely NOT "entirely manageable". Where did you ever get that idea?
Leprosy is an infectious disease which is treated with antibiotics. Early diagnosis and treatment is the way to prevent the disfiguring disabilities related to the disease. Find a better analogy.
 
@Muriel Schwenck

Yes, I do acknowledge that treatment of schizophrenia is manageable only when the patient themselves, takes the appropriate medication, leads the appropriate lifestyle and gets the appropriate medical help.

My point is, its schizophrenia, not the bogeyman - and it IS entirely manageable with the right response.

A parent who fears donor sperm because of an 8% chance of hereditary schizophrenia needs to wake up. Let's say the kid DOES get it. No parent can control an adult offspring in their choices, including taking their meds. Because its a choice of the patient to not do the right thing.

Fearing you may have a baby that gets hereditary schizophrenia from donor sperm is crazy. And that was MY initial comment, to which you responded, going on about him lying.

I have said, his deceit is wrong. I don't like the fact that he lied about it all - its wrong. But everyone lies and such a song and dance has been made over this.

Not because he lied inasmuch as he lied about having schizophrenia and criminal convictions. - Because the article states 'parents who are terrified for their children's futures'. Hence my comments on the odds of it happening, that its treatable and that its stigmatized.

The article doesn't show anything from the parents worrying about anything other than their fears over his mental illness history. So my comment is on point.

Now when you say you aren't discriminating against him, don't get offended. I've not directed anything in my comments as a personal attack against you. I have used 'You' to describe anyone in question who fears the transmission of his mental illnesses via his sperm donorship. Believe me, if I wanted to attack you personally, you'd absolutely know it. None of this was personal towards or against you as an individual.

I used leprosy as a comparison and I think its absolutely apt. Completely different diseases with no relation - but I'm drawing on the cultural concept of 'treating someone like a leper' which goes back to the stigma of mental illness.

And finally, adoption in my country is a mess. People can wait years - some a decade or more to get through the process. So not an option for me, unless I choose to start now bd maybe have a baby sometime in my 40s and 50s. Not realistic. And international adoption is difficult ad we're currently redrawing our laws over bringing internationally adopted kids back into Australia.

And so what if I want to start with a baby? That's my choice. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm not comfortable with piggybacking onto a partners kids - in most cases, they have a loving mum and it's not right of me to insert myself into that dynamic. I've dated men before with kids and so far, I've had troubles a few times regarding exes and their relationship - it impacts my life in ways I don't like, so I don't want that option either.
 
8% odds of schizophrenia seems really really high... Especially when you take into account that through his 'generous' donorship he produced 36 children. That's about 3 kids with schizophrenia. Not cool.
 
@sarahdowunder: Your soap box about mental illness and personal fertility issues is not important here.
This man, who happens to have a mental illness, which he is not managing well, LIED about his life story. I'd like to know how many other donors lied and how many children they had.
The company is also a fraud for claiming to verify the donors' histories when they admitted it was actually an honor system and they did nothing. The customers were fools for believing the b.s. and not verifying more. They were greedy for better genes.
Everyone should have their asses sued over this, including the schizophrenic who lied about himself.

8% odds of schizophrenia seems really really high... Especially when you take into account that through his 'generous' donorship he produced 36 children. That's about 3 kids with smeizophrenia. Not cool.

Anyway, that 8% chance is an average. I know a family: grandmother, daughter, three grandchildren, one great-grand child, 100% schizophrenic. All refuse therapy or meds, all refuse to acknowledge their illness. They all claim that they are not the problem - the rest of us are the problem - accusing them of mental illness. Those diagnoses from doctors, the mental hospital records? All a conspiracy against them. Three children descending into mental illness before age 16. Father sold his house to pay for hospitalization for wife and three kids.
How did everyone turn out?
Grandmother: gave up her daughter for adoption, paranoid , drunk, refused to speak to family, froze to death in a trailer home.
Mother: Abandoned her family by age 30. Never heard from again, presumed dead.
Children: Son, homeless, beaten to death at age 25 for his welfare money
Daughter #1: Literally pulled from a rainy gutter in San Francisco, where she was a drug soaked prostitute. She had intestinal TB. She was placed in a halfway house, cured of TB, put on meds. Left the home, refused meds, "nothing wrong with me, you are all the crazy ones". Dead of alcoholism and marasmus.
Daughter #2. Lives in a trailer, sponges off people. Refuses meds. Periodically alcoholic. She is so paranoid, she won't be a prostitute like her sister which probably saved her from a really dangerous life. I got her on SSI due to a diagnosis of mental illness. She won't give up the monthly income, but insists her inability to hold a job her entire life, and the reason she is on relief is not because of mental illnes, but due to bunions. Oh! She had a baby in her 20's, gave it up for adoption, fortunately had her tubes tied. Guess what? That baby had fetal alchohol syndrome and developed schizophrenia.
Four generations, 100% schizophrenia. All refuse treatment.
It's not that simple.
 
How about, be grateful because if it wasnt for this man's generosity, these parents would never have become parents.
This guy was paid for a service and used deceit to get paid he did not do it out of generosity. The parents paid for a service and didn't get what they paid for. Cold or not this is a business and clients are entitled to what they pay for.

If I paid for food that was certified organic, then later found that the supplier lied, I would be pissed. I wouldn't be grateful that the supplier lied because I still got food.

As far as having a manageable illness, that means it can be managed....not that it always will be, and even in a manageable state it sure as hell doesn't mean it be all good. If you have ever tried to manage pain or anything else you know that manageable only means livable and far from free of issues.
 
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