You’ve heard the mistakes the fertility industry has made – so it’s no surprise some people are offering another option. 

In this episode, Amelia Oberhardt dives into the ‘known donor’ movement, of men offering their sperm on Facebook.  

Is it better than using sperm sourced through a fertility clinic? And is an unregulated environment of sperm donation really the best solution?  

If you can't wait to listen to the next episode, you can find all episodes of By Any Means for free on the LiSTNR app. Listen to Episode 5 now.

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Systemic secrecy and loose record-keeping in the early days of IVF is coming to light, and it's clear that some sperm donors were abusing the system. 

In this episode, Amelia hears from adult donor-conceived people whose lives have been altered because of secrecy and negligence. From people finding out they have an unknown large number of siblings, to inherited health conditions, and the anguish of not knowing your medical history.

If you don't want to wait for the next episode, all episodes of By Any Means are available for free on the LiSTNR app. Listen to Episode 4 now. 

If you know more, or want to share your story, email [email protected] 

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In the early 2000s, the advent of DNA test kits opens the Pandora’s Box of conception secrets. As the identities of many previously anonymous sperm donors are suddenly revealed, their biological children’s lives are upended upon learning the truth about how they’d been conceived. 

Amelia speaks to Darren, a medical student who’d donated his sperm anonymously in the 1980s, and Guy, a man who found out in adulthood he had been conceived with anonymous donor sperm, following Victoria’s decision to become the first state in Australia to establish a registry for donor-conceived children. 

Every episode of By Any Means is available exclusively on the LiSTNR app. You can listen to Episode 3 now. 

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An intriguing email propels journalist Amelia Oberhardt to investigate the fertility industry in Australia, its history and methods, and the outcomes for the children born during the early days of IVF – when secrecy around conception and anonymous sperm donation was the norm.  

Amelia’s starting point is her best friend’s mother – one of the first women to go through infertility treatment in Queensland and successfully give birth to one of the state’s first ‘test tube babies’.   

Amelia speaks to the doctors who pioneered IVF in Australia, to understand the thinking behind the fertility industry’s early choice of persuading their patients to keep the truth of conception secret from the children born from anonymous sperm donations.  

You can listen to all episodes of By Any Means now on the LiSTNR app. 

If you want to get in touch, email [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Egg donation, sperm donation and surrogacy – assisted reproduction technologies have made it easier than ever to have a baby but created an ethical and identity minefield.

From finding sperm on Facebook, to finding out you might have 700 siblings, Secrets We Keep: By Any Means examines the multibillion-dollar fertility industry that fills wombs.

Journalist Amelia Oberhardt speaks with parents, adult children and clinicians about the ‘wild west’ of the modern fertility landscape, confronting complex questions about consent, identity and human rights. 

Only available on LiSTNR. Download the app and listen for free: https://play.listnr.com/podcast/secrets-we-keep

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Claire discovers how the Australian Federal Police are embracing FIGG, but with no regulation to safeguard against the privacy concerns which come with increased genetic surveillance. And in the final episode of Should I Spit?, the true market value of DNA databases is revealed and we find out how the personal information amassed by companies like Ancestry is being facilitated by Australia’s National Archives. The Angie Dodge murder is finally solved but a final tragic twist shocks everyone involved.

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Claire meets the scientist responsible for the original DNA family history project Michael’s father donated to. He’s a well-known archaeo-geneticist who was attempting to build a DNA family tree of the whole world, with the hope it would bring world peace. This ambitious plan was funded by a Mormon billionaire.

A celebrity genetic detective takes on the Angie Dodge case and finds that a distant relative of Michael’s was responsible for the murder. Claire discovers in this episode of ShouldI Spit? exactly how science and intelligence combine in the powerful new investigative technique of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy.

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Claire learns the details about the original study which took the DNA samples from Michael’s father; from its religious origins to how the data eventually became part of Ancestry’s database. The police have another investigative lead to Angie’s killer, an image created purely from the DNA taken from the crime scene. Detectives show it to Michael’s family, convinced the killer lurks somewhere in his family tree.

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Although Michael is no longer a murder suspect, his male cousins are scrutinised. The Idaho Falls police are trialing a new technology which predicts someone’s physical appearance based on DNA samples. Michael’s sceptical about the science and fears the police are searching deeper in his family to find Angie’s killer. Episode 6 of Should I Spit? reveals forensic genetic genealogy is enthusiastically embraced by the Australian police with no new privacy legislation and little public scrutiny. 

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A man called Chris Tapp has been in prison for 20 years for the death of Angie, but his DNA was never found at the crime scene. For Angie’s mother, Carol it doesn’t make sense, and she goes from initially calling for this man’s execution to being his greatest advocate. Carol then pushes the police to use a new technique of forensic genealogy. However, fears this new technique threaten both people’s right to privacy and their presumption of innocence begin to surface.

Meanwhile, Claire discovers that Australia started its own criminal DNA database following a mass DNA screening operation in rural New South Wales.

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