Trent Arsenault: Freelance Online Sperm Donor
Meet Trent Arsenault. Looking to get some sperm online? He’s your guy. Arsenault has been running a personal online sperm donation service for women looking to get pregnant. Cause yeah, when I think about the best place to get sperm to have inserted into my body to create a child, I think getting it in the mail from some dude I found on the Internet would be a good way. For the record, I am not a girl, and will not be inserting anything into my body, let alone making any children, but come on, are any girls going to disagree and tell me this sounds legit? Didn’t think so, and neither did the FDA who is now threatening Asrenault with a $100,000 fine and jail time. Arsenault, who describes himself on his site as a “Silicon Valley technology expert and former Navy cadet”, has reportedly made over 320 donations to 46 women and fathered 14 children through his free service. Why in the world would 14 women use Asrenault’s free sperm bank? “They contact me because my sperm is fresh, not frozen. It hasn’t been quarantined for years,” he told the Silicon Valley Mercury News. While there are apparently 14 satisfied customers and 4 more on the way, the FDA is not smiling. They sent Trent a cease and desist order, claiming that he is unlawfully manufacturing human cells as well as not taking proper precautions to prevent the spread of diseases. According to FDA regulations, sperm banks require that all donors get tested for STD’s within 7 days of donating sperm. In addition, sperm banks isolate the actual sperm cells from the semen to reduce health risks and the passing of pathogens – something Trent is unable to do.
Another big concern being raised about Asrenault’s home baby-batter donation service is a future issue of inbreeding. The more children he fathers, the more likely two related people would unknowingly have sex. “There’s a danger of accidental incest or inbreeding if you’re the father of 14 children and a habitual sperm donor. Nobody should be involved as a sperm donor on that level. It’s not safe,” said University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan. 
Ok, yes that’s true, but there are billions of people on the planet, how likely is it that you will end up in bed with your brother/sister? The FDA should probably lead with their other points and leave this one on the back burner. Trent is valiantly fighting the FDA’s claims stating that, “This is not a business or a clinic. It’s just people partnering up to have a baby out of compassion.” Trent says that the majority of his clients cannot afford to pay an actual sperm bank and what he offers is a much-welcomed alternative to having sex with a stranger from a bar. Trent goes out of his way to provide more information than people will ever need about him. His site has copies of all of his legal documents from his passport to his social security earnings report for 20 years. Trent also explains his organic diet, alcohol and smoke free lifestyle, and his entire medical history– right down to the leg he broke ice-skating when he was 8. Although he is the first case of a private sperm donor in the US, whether or not Trent is actually providing a positive service is regardless – he is fathering way too many children and not being completely safe. Until these things are addressed, Trent’s home yogurt distribution plant should be closed for renovations.
