According to Swedish TV, at least three conscripts had children without their knowledge. Conscripts received money for donating semen for research use.
Swedish TV’s (SVT) investigative journalism program Uppdrag granskning revealsthat the sperm of at least three conscripts has been used for artificial insemination without permission.
In the 1960s and early 70s, freezing of semen was studied at the University Hospital in Uppsala. Conscripts from a military unit located in the city were offered the opportunity to donate sperm for compensation.
The conscripts believed that the semen would only be used for research purposes. However, the sperm of at least three conscripts was used in the hospital for artificial insemination. Based on DNA tests, men have had several children with women they don’t know.
According to data from the Uppdrag granskning program, more than 40 conscripts donated sperm to the research project, many of them several times.
The hospital in Uppsala is not going to find out in more detail what actually happened in the investigation that ended a long time ago.
Uppdrag granskning reported in the spring that a doctor at Halmstad Hospital in southern Sweden had used the sperm of at least five men for artificial insemination without permission. The doctor in charge of Halmstad’s activities had also collaborated with the Uppsala research group.