Many sperm donors choose to keep their identity a secret. But not Clive, a former maths teacher who has fathered 65 children – and aims to soon hit 100.
Like most white van drivers, Clive is a delivery man. But the nature of his packages are somewhat out of the ordinary, reports The Sun. The married 62-year-old delivers sperm – his own – to willing recipients free of charge.
He happily gives up whole days to drive from his family home in Burton, Staffordshire, to wherever he is needed. On arrival, Clive parks in a nearby street before climbing into the back of his van.
There he fills a syringe with his product before clambering out and ringing on the recipient’s doorbell. A tip, he says, is to keep the donation in the crock of your arm so as to keep it warm. He then usually engages his recipient in a few seconds of idle chit-chat before jumping back in his van. Often, he says, they are nervous, and this helps to put them at ease.
‘I know this is probably unusual but for me, by doing it in the van there is far less involvement, less emotional attachment,’ he says. Since his adventures in donation began he has fathered 65 – with another 14 on their way. His goal, he says, is to hit 100. The ex-teacher’s home life is remarkably normal. He has three children with his wife and nine grandchildren. Clive, one of four donors featured in a new documentary by Channel 4, Super Sperm Donors, tries to keep his distance, both physically and emotionally.
He often engages in some light-hearted email dialogue before the handover but tries to keep face-to-face transactions short and to the point. However, because Clive is not offering his sperm via a Government-approved Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority-licensed clinic he is at risk of being deemed a legal parent. Interestingly, he believes his van will mitigate any claims he is anything more than a simple donor.
Clive told The Sun: ‘I also know, technically, if any of the ladies ever wanted to report me to the Child Support Agency in the future, they could nail me for 18 years for child payments.’This has never happened but it is another reason why I use my van.’
But why go to the risk of fathering so many, for such little gain? ‘I am so proud to have fathered 79 children. I love the joy it brings,’ he says. ‘So many people say, ‘Thank you so much, Clive, you really have changed our lives’. Clive took the dive and became a sperm donor in 2013.
But the idea first sparked in his head as long as a decade ago when he read the stories of others. He visited a clinic but they refused his sperm on the grounds he was too old to donate. At 62, Clive is well above the suggested age of 35 (when sperm count often begins to drop)His response was to place an advert of Facebook in which he was clear about his lifestyle – he enjoys mountain biking – and medical condition (he has no long-term problems). He also provides paperwork of STI checks for anyone who asks.
In response to his social media ad, Clive was inundated with responses from female recipients. He says: ‘About two-thirds of the people I have helped are same-sex couples. The others are heterosexual couples and a few are single ladies.’