Home / Series / DW Documentaries / Aired Order / Season 2026 / Episode 40

Father unknown? Life as a sperm donor's child

Artificial insemination has been a possibility for decades, yet some aspects of it are still being debated — including in Europe. Not least of those is whether there should be a limit on how many times a donor can give sperm. Hanna got pregnant while without a partner — through a sperm donor. Not only is that allowed in Sweden, the government sponsors it. She became pregnant on her fifth attempt. Other European countries prohibit artificial insemination for single people, others offer less financial aid. The legal situation across Europe is a patchwork of approaches. Leontine's father was an anonymous sperm donor. She wanted to learn more about him, and discovered that she has at least 27 half-siblings scattered across the continent. In Sweden, some believe there should be a limit to how often a person can donate sperm. There is no consensus on that in the rest of the EU.

English
  • Originally Aired March 16, 2026
  • Runtime 12 minutes
  • Network Deutsche Welle TV
  • Created October 11, 2026 by
    andresflower
  • Modified October 11, 2026 by
    andresflower