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Couple who had disabled baby after getting sperm on internet welcome third child – Mirror Online


Armani-Lee Byott has no idea what an unconventional family he has been born into… or that he has hundreds of siblings.

The two-week-old is the third child born to parents Michele and Terri-Anne using controversial unregulated sperm donor sites.

Big sister Tiammi-Sienna, five, and brother Jordan-Jaylen, four, were conceived in the same way – with sperm from strangers the couple met on the internet.

Like thousands of couples every year, they shunned conventional IVF for donations from random men.

But they have no regrets, despite the huge risks involved.

Mum-of-nine Michele, 43, said: “We wouldn’t have been eligible for IVF on the NHS because I’d already had six children before I met Terri-Anne.

“But I love babies and having a ­family seemed like the next step in our relationship.

“I’d have 19 kids if I could.”

Terri-Anne and Michele have been hassled by sex pests who use the forums to prey on women.

They also accept that their kids run the risk of falling in love with a sibling if they grow up in the same area as other donor babies.

And although they insist that they ask all potential donors for medical records, they cannot be sure their kids are not at risk of suffering genetic health conditions.

Mum-of-nine Michele, pictured with children Jordan-Jaylen, Armani-Lee and Tiammi-Sienna, wasn’t eligible for IVF on the NHS as she already had six children before meeting wife Terri-Anne

 

But despite the health and safety risks to them and their children, they would not change their very modern brood for the world.

Using donors via sperm sites is legal – provided they are only compensated for expenses and not profiting.

And Terri-Anne, 31, who also has a son from a previous relationship and carried all three of their children, says they are considering having more sperm donor babies via a surrogate.

The trainee carpenter said: “I couldn’t carry another baby but I’d have more using a sperm donor and surrogate – maybe another four – as long as we could use my eggs.”

The couple, who married in 2015, say they could never afford the bill for private fertility treatment.

One round of IVF in the UK costs around £3,000.

And most couples who have children from previous relationships, like Michele and Terri-Anne, do not qualify for the treatment on the NHS.

All three children were produced using sperm they got off the internet

Even childless couples struggling to conceive face a postcode lottery – with some health boards only offering one round of treatment, which comes with just a 30 per cent chance of success.

Full-time mum Michele admits their unconventional family, from Corby, Northants, has not been accepted by everyone – including some of her ­children from previous relationships.

She said: “No one can accept or ­believe it. Some people still can’t believe that I am with a woman, because I spent years ­married to a man.

“My other children live with their dad and are probably resentful because I have started another family. But it doesn’t mean I love them any less. Jordan has started to ask why he does not have a daddy and he even asked us if we could buy one at the shop.

“We’ve told him he’s extra-special because he has two mummies. When the kids are older, we’ll tell them the truth about the donors.”

Michele and Terri-Anne got together a decade ago, after Terri-Anne’s sister Shannon, 25, became friends with Michele’s oldest daughter Nicole, who is also 25.

The couple, who have been together for ten years, on their wedding day

 

The pair had an affair and Michele eventually left her husband for her.

Michele said: “I’d never been with a woman before but when we kissed, I got butterflies.”

In late 2012, they began to talk about having a family of their own.

Michele said: “I’d been ­sterilised after my last child but Terri-Anne wanted to ­carry. We decided to find a private donor as IVF was so expensive.

“We knocked some back because they were too pushy and asking if we could do things the natural way.

“Others asked for sexual favours in return for their sample.

“We know when you talk to someone over the internet, they could be anyone, so we were nervous when Tiammi’s donor knocked.

“Neither of us wanted to answer the door at first.

“He brought a certificate to show he had no STIs and we looked at his medical records.”

The donor produced a sample in the couple’s bathroom and Terri-Anne used a ­syringe to insert it into her cervix.

They were delighted when she got pregnant on that first try.

Terri-Anne said: “Michele made me wee on a stick, then she told me I was pregnant.”

Michele said: “We were over the moon, crying and jumping up and down.

“I felt really involved, even though I wasn’t carrying the baby and I knew it wouldn’t be a biological relative, because I was at every scan and appointment.”

Tiammi-Sienna was born in October 2013 and the couple were soon ­planning to add to their brood.

Michele said: “Terri-Anne had a planned C-section and we were over the moon.

“We cried when she was born. We couldn’t stop looking at her or holding her.

“We couldn’t believe we had our own little family, a human who depended on us.

“We sent her donor a picture but that was it. She was such a good baby, so by the time she was six months old, we were talking about having another one.”

Jordan-Jaylen was born in June 2015 via a different donor, this time after the second attempt at artificial insemination.

Michele said: “We were overjoyed and crying our eyes out. We had another beautiful baby.”

But the family faced heartache soon after his birth, when Tiammi-Sienna was struck down by the cold sore virus and left brain-damaged.

Their eldest child Tiammi-Sienna was left brain-damaged after she was struck down by the coldsore virus

Michele is now her full-time carer and she and Terri-Anne are fundraising for private physiotherapy as she is still learning to walk again.

But the demands of a disabled child did not put them off trying for a third baby.

This time, it took three tries to conceive Armani-Lee, who was born on May 22.

Terri-Anne said: “It was heartbreaking when I didn’t fall pregnant the first two times.

“When it did work the third time, I didn’t believe it.”

The couple found their donors on a dedicated Facebook group page but others use sites specialising in the DIY system found elsewhere on the internet.

Armani-Lee’s ­donor has fathered kids all over the world and his parents know the lad is at risk of genetic sexual attraction – which happens when someone falls for a biological relative they were separated from in childhood.

Michele said: “Armani-Lee’s donor literally has hundreds of kids. He has helped 18 people get pregnant this year alone.

“There could be a chance Armani-Lee could meet a half-sibling and there would be no way of checking who their dad was if they were another donor baby.

“We just have to hope and pray that doesn’t happen! Maybe we’ll have to lock him up.”

The couple also insist they will let their kids track down their ­donors when they are older, if they ­decide to.

Michele said: “We wouldn’t get jealous but our donors don’t want a father-type relationship, they just want to help people.”

And Terri-Anne said: “We know if one of the kids ­needed a kidney, they’d be right there.”

A host of health risks

Unregulated sperm donors could pose health risks, an expert warns.

Dr Suvir Venkataraman, general manager of the Harley Street Fertility Clinic, said: “They are not screened for lots of things, such as any infectious or transmittable diseases like HIV, hepatitis, chlamydia or gonorrhoea.

“There is also a risk of general infection as the sample is not being processed in a clean environment.

“On top of that, the donor might have inheritable conditions, such as Down’s syndrome or cystic fibrosis.

“There is a host of genetic conditions we screen for. You might not know you are a carrier.

“And who has the donor already donated to? The Human Fertility and Embryology Authority recommends a donor not create more than 10 families.

“This is to avoid children having hundreds of half-siblings. This could have a psychological impact on the child.

“And if the donor has created hundreds of children, two might get together and start a relationship.

“The HFEA maintains a record of all donations, which enables you to check if someone is your half-sibling.”

     

  • The family is raising money for private physio and speech therapy for Tiammi-Sienna. Visit HERE for more information.

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