Online sperm donor sows seeds of debate

A 26-year-old man from Gothenburg, "used but in good condition", has had his advert removed from an auction site after offering his sexual services to lesbian women wishing to become pregnant.

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Alexander Kandiloros placed his ad on auction site Tradera after the Court of Appeal ruled last week that a lesbian couple had not been discriminated against when the younger of the two women, now aged 39, was refused the right to artificial insemination.

"It was intended to stir debate, to see if there was interest in this kind of service in view of the ruling," Kandiloros told The Local.

In the court case, the 39-year-old's partner was treated three times but failed to become pregnant before turning 40, after which point she was no longer entitled to try for a child. Her younger partner reasoned that, since each couple is allowed six attempts, she could use up the remainder of the allocation. Kandiloros concurred.

"Everybody has a right to the joy of parenthood, even if you are in a lesbian relationship or you do not have a partner!" he wrote in the body of his ad.

But the court of appeal agreed with the lower court's assessment that homosexual couples were to be treated in the same way as heterosexual pairs, in which the six insemination treatments must be used up by one and the same partner.

In his ad, which he describes as "satirical, and not to be taken too seriously," Kandiloros included a veiled reference to what he views as the court's overly strict interpretation of the law.

"I will come to the home of the highest bidder after this person has figured out when she is at her most fertile for intercourse, but I will do so at most three times."

Once Tradera discovered what was afoot, the site quickly removed the 26-year-old's ad, which it said breached its terms and conditions, as these do not permit the sale of services on the site.

But before the ad was pulled, the 26-year-old "published author and law student" laid out some impeccable credentials for prospective buyers.

"Non-smoking 26-year-old in good physical shape, no hereditary diseases or allergies, good eyesight, brown hair, brown eyes, respectable beard growth, 1.76 metres/75 kg."

Kandiloros was however also alert to the fact that sex with a 26-year-old male might not be to everybody's taste.

"An intercourse-free alternative is of course also available," he wrote.

By the time the ad was removed, less than a day after it appeared on Tradera, Kandiloros had received a highest bid of a paltry 100 kronor ($15).

But he assured The Local that even had the stakes been higher there was never any risk of the auction leading to a bout of infidelity.

"I'm in a happy relationship with my girlfriend. We discussed this in advance and agreed that, whatever happened, she would lay the highest bid," he said.