For years, Arthur Kermalvezen, the child of a sperm donor, saw possible fathers everywhere he went in his home town of Paris. When, as an adult, he fell in love with Audrey, another sperm donor baby from Paris, the question became even more pressing. When they were born, there were only two sperm banks in Paris and many men had made multiple donations, so there was a real possibility that they could be half-siblings. Before building a life together, Arthur and Audrey needed to know whether they were related, but in France only a research scientist, doctor or judge can order a genetic test. Violators can be fined more than €3,500 ($4,288) for possessing a home testing kit. Audrey, who is an attorney who specializes in bioethics law, was determined to act within the law. After three years of legal challenges, the couple took a leap of faith and got married. Shortly before the birth of their first child, a doctor agreed to investigate what information might exist about their respective donors. Under French law, a medical practitioner has access to this information about their patients, but is not allowed to share it with them. The doctor found that their donors were born in different years, and so could not be the same man. It was a life-changing piece of information, but one they only gained because the doctor agreed to break the rules. Even with this new information, Arthur still worried that they could be related, so after years of resisting it, they finally took a home DNA test. Audrey finally found out who her biological father was, but he had already died, and Arthur made contact with his biological father in 2017. For now, however, France remains one of the few countries in Europe where at-home DNA testing is still prohibited.
