The Scary Truth Behind Sperm Donation

Sarah discovered dirty secrets of the fertility industry while looking for her biological dad

- Courtney Greatrex

Sarah Dingle was 27 years old when she discovered that her identity was a lie.

Over dinner with her mum one night, she was told she was conceived using a sperm donor and that the man who raised her wasn’t her biological father. The discovery left her questioning who she really was.

Sarah, a journalist by trade, decided to use her skills to track down her roots and made shocking discoveries about the fertility industry as she went.

“When I found out the truth that was a big shock, but that was the least of it,” she tells New Idea. “My part in that mess is so tiny, compared to just the magnitude of problems I discovered. It’s a baked-in disaster.”

Sarah, now 37, says she initially didn’t believe her mother when she revealed the truth about her conception.

“My first reaction was, ‘Are you joking?’ I couldn’t compute. It rocked everything I knew about myself.”

The weeks and months that followed left Sarah reeling.

“I was going about my life feeling very detached and hollow. I would brush my teeth and when I looked at myself, I didn’t recognise my face.”