Episode 8

By: Dov Fox

Narrated by: Dov Fox

Dov Fox finally sits down with the man at the center of it all.©2020 Dov Fox (P)2020 Audible Originals

Must listen

Truly one of the best podcasts I’ve ever listened to. It discusses the absence of regulation in the ART industry and how we think of and treat mental health.

Incredible story

I appreciated how Dov was telling this story from a human standpoint vs just sensational. The sensitivity to not just the families who are impacted and their lifetime to deal with it, but also in many ways, the impact on the Donor.

Donor 9623

Excellent podcast and narration about a controversial subject. The podcast explored sperm donation from the perspectives of the recipient, donor, offspring, and business ethics . This is a must hear podcast for anyone interested in fertility situations.

Would make good debate material!

This is an interesting story that I would never have learned about if I had to research it. I enjoy learning about interesting people through podcasts, like this or documentaries!
It also would make good debate material for a class, or just for fun. I am a teacher and right now I wish I was teaching highschoolers instead of lower elementary kids, so I could bring this up and have a debate.
Do you think the parents have a right to be upset and request settlement money for this? Or do you think it is a risk they chose to take and now much live with and pay for?
I have mixed thoughts on this as I do not support gay/lesbian marriage/relationships but at the same time, Chris should not have lied and the company should have requested medical records for the parents and children's sake for future reference.

Like I said, it was interesting and would make a great debate!

Shame on Xytex

First, my review of the book. Second, my opinion of the issue.

This was a phenomenal book. Read wonderfully, with great music that fit around the words perfectly. The subject matter is tough! Dov Fox handles it with sensitivity. This is actually one of the best jobs of reporting I have read in years. After this listening experience, I’d listen if this man wrote a book about the most boring subject I could imagine because I bet he’d present it in ways that reveal things to me I’d not have expected.

The author makes a sincere effort to encourage everyone involved in this issue to have a voice in the story. He does this without coming across as aggressive. Best of all, he does not editorialize. He lets the people involved tell their story and allows me to come to my own conclusions.

His own musings about his father are gentle and infrequent enough that I feel he is empathetic with the people in this story, but not that he is taking the story away from them and viewing it only through the lens of his life experience. I am very glad I took the time to listen to this book.

Now, my opinion on the issue. I read a review about this book that says the parents could have just chosen “good enough” and are somehow at fault because they went out of their way to choose the very best sperm donor available to them, as if that is somehow wrong to do.

Humans are mammals and mammals are geared biologically to search out the best sperm or egg available to continue their line. Consciously or subconsciously, we all do this when dating and when choosing who to sleep with and/or marry. So why would people who need to choose sperm from a bank do it any differently? That would make no sense.

Xytex doubtless knows this, and that is probably why the first thing I saw when I checked out their webpage after listening to this book is a banner reading “Who You Choose Matters”

Xytex deliberately set this up, to make a lot of money preying on people, both prospective families and donors. I hope our legal system addresses this issue and puts some legislation in place soon.