From the Legal Intelligencer/www.law.com:

In what is being called the first decision of its kind, a federal judge has ruled that a sperm bank may be sued under product liability laws for failing to detect that a sperm donor had a genetic mutation.

U.S. District Judge Thomas N. O’Neill Jr. ruled that a 13- year-old girl with intellectual disabilities may proceed with a suit against a New York sperm bank under the theory that the sperm used to conceive her had a genetic mutation called Fragile X, which is linked with conditions including intellectual impairment and behavioral disorders.

“Under New York law, the sale of sperm is considered a product and is subject to strict liability,” O’Neill wrote.

The ruling makes it possible for Brittany Donovan of Philadelphia to pursue claims against a New York sperm bank that sold sperm to her mother, Donna Donovan, in 1995. The lawsuit says Donna Donovan was assured by Idant Laboratories that its donors were screened to make sure they had a “good genetic background.”

This entry was posted on Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 12:16 pm and is filed under fragile x, genetics, law, NOT2BEMISSED. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.