California high court requires sperm donor to testify on medical history.The California Supreme Court has upheld without comment an appeals court's holding that an anonymous sperm donor has only a limited right to privacy. The high court agreed that a donor could be forced to testify in a couple's lawsuit that claims a sperm bank sperm bank Reproduction medicine A registered tissue bank that collects, stores, tests, and sells frozen sperm to be used for artificial insemination. See Artificial insemination. and its doctors failed to disclose that the donor had a family history of kidney disease Kidney Disease Definition Kidney disease is a general term for any damage that reduces the functioning of the kidney. Kidney disease is also called renal disease. . Brittany Johnson was conceived in 1989 through artificial insemination artificial insemination, technique involving the artificial injection of sperm-containing semen from a male into a female to cause pregnancy. Artificial insemination is often used in animals to multiply the possible offspring of a prized animal and for the breeding from sperm deposited at California Cryobank cryobank /cryo·bank/ (kri´o-bank?) a facility for freezing and preserving semen at low temperatures (usually -196.5° C.) for future use. cry·o·bank n. . Now 11 years old, she has incurable, genetically transmitted kidney disease. The sperm donor indicated on Cryobank's donor questionnaire that he had a family history of kidney disease, but Cryobank accepted his deposits. Diane and Ronald Johnson sued Cryobank and two of its doctors on behalf of their daughter, claiming professional negligence professional negligence n. See malpractice. , fraud, and breach of contract. (Johnson v. California Cryobank, No. SC043434 (Cal., Los Angeles County Super. Ct. July 25, 1996).) In the discovery phase of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , the defense refused to reveal to the Johnsons' attorney the donor's identity or to turn over his medical records. The trial court found that the donor had a privacy interest in remaining anonymous and that the Johnsons failed to show a compelling state interest that outweighed the donor's right to privacy. (See Sperm Donor Must Testify About Medical History, TRIAL, Aug. 2000, at 82.) The appeals court reversed, ordering the defendants to disclose the donor's medical records and to present him for depositions, while shielding his identity as much as possible. (Johnson v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, No. B137002, 2000 WL 638843 (Cal. Ct. App. May 18, 2000).) |
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