Female sperm bank event

An American school girl decided to take a sperm bank to court, because the facility provided poor quality sperm to her mother.

Storage room of a sperm bank in America.Photo: ehow.com.

Brittany Donovan, 13, was born through artificial insemination. She suffers from a "partial X chromosome deficiency" syndrome. This syndrome slows down brain development. As a result, victims suffer from intellectual or autism spectrum disorders, making them unable to acquire knowledge as normal people.

Donovan filed a lawsuit against Idant Laboratories in New York state - a bank that provides sperm to her mother - according to a law on producers' responsibility for product quality.

Daniel Thistle, Donovan's lawyer, said his client would not have to prove that Idant Laboratories was negligent in choosing sperm. Instead, the plaintiff only needs to provide evidence that Idant Laboratories sperm are not safe and cause unexpected consequences. Genetic tests showed Donovan inherited the "partially X chromosome deficiency" syndrome from her father.

The plaintiff was born in the state of Pennsylvania - where sperm banks and legal entities sell human organs that are not punished by law if their products are defective. But in New York state the situation is different. On March 31, Thomas O'Neill, a federal judge, announced that Donovan's case would be tried in New York state.

Lawyers believe that if Donovan won the case, many sperm recipients would imitate her.