Maybe we should have certified labels on the test tubes. And a new raft of consumer orientated legislation ensuring sperm banks can’t sell customers a dud (like say Barack Obama) dressed up as a mix of Adonis and Einstein.

The Essential Baby Magazine reports

When you think the biological father of your child is a highly educated PhD student with an “impressive health history”, it would come as quite a shock to discover he’s actually a college dropout with schizophrenia and a criminal record.

This is what happened to Angela Collins and Margaret Elizabeth Hanson after their sperm bank, Xytex Corp, allegedly provided them with false information about their chosen donor. The Canadian couple is now suing the company, saying the organisation is guilty of fraud and negligence.

I guess they thought it was something like buying a dress with a Ralph Lauren label only to get it home and discover its a cheap Chinese imitation ripoff.

When the couple made their selection they were told the donor was working on his PhD in Neuroscience Engineering, had a Masters in Artificial Intelligence and was “mature beyond his years”, according to the lawsuit.

Ms Collins went on to give birth to the couple’s son, conceived with the donor sperm, in 2007. It wasn’t until last June when Xytex Corp incorrectly sent them an email containing the donor’s name that the truth was revealed.

“Plaintiffs and others very quickly discovered for the first time that defendants representations had been false,” the statement of claim filed in the court reads. “Among other things, (the donor) was schizophrenic, which is genetic and hereditary, thereby risking all of said (donor’s) offspring.”

The couple discovered their son’s biological father had completed no higher education, had been arrested for burglary and that his photos had been doctored to remove a large mole on his cheek.

Ms Collins and Ms Hanson are not the only parents affected by the discovery, as the donor is believed to have fathered 36 children.

The couple is part of an online group of mothers who chose the same donor, and at least 15 other families are expected to join the court action against Xytex Corp.

I’m thinking that it’s hard to know how to solve such a problem. I guess if they win the case the financial compensation may go some way to alleviating any discomfort. But why can’t they just take the baby back and swap him for one that is what they want? /sarc.

Are we through the friggin looking glass yet?