Mum conceives using sperm donor app plus kit off eBay
MUM Stephenie Taylor has an eBaby thanks to a kit from an auction website and sperm acquired via a Tinder-style app. She was desperate for a second child but didn’t want another relationship, and private fertility clinics were too costly at around £1,600.
So she picked a donor from the Just A Baby app, ordered an insemination kit off eBay and watched YouTube videos showing how to use it.
Baby daughter Eden was conceived on the first try after her donor came to her house to drop off his sperm. Stephenie, 33, said: “You could say she is a real online baby – she is a bit of a miracle.
“If I didn’t have access to all that electronically then she wouldn’t be here. But I’m over the moon to be a mum again and I’m proud of the way she came into the world.”
Stephenie, of Nunthorpe, Teesside, already had son Frankie – who turns five next month – with an ex-partner.
But she didn’t want him to be an only child and longed to complete her family.
She started looking into private fertility clinics but was put off by the cost. And she didn’t want an unhappy relationship to affect her son’s life.
A pal recommended the Just A Baby app. As with dating service Tinder, you swipe right if you are interested in someone’s profile. Stephenie wanted a familyorientated man with no history of serious illness, ideally with similar features to her so that their child would look like Frankie. She found a match within a day. After messaging for three weeks, he dropped off his sperm at her house in January 2020.
She said: “He was nice, warm and friendly and we had a cup of tea and chatted about the weather.” She used the sample to inseminate herself and two weeks later found out she was pregnant. Her mum and sister were delighted. Stephenie said it took her dad a while to get on board but he now thinks it was a “brilliant decision”.
She welcomed 6lb 13oz Eden on October 15 last year and texted her donor to let him know.
And she will have no problem if Eden wants to meet the “DNA contributor” when she is older. The donor, who wants to stay anonymous, said of Stephenie: “She’s an amazing person and I’m happy to do it again if she’d like more children in future.”