A woman has spoken of how she tracked down the sperm-donor father of her child – before the pair fell in love and got married.
British-born Australian Aminah Hart gave birth to daughter Leila following IVF treatment.
Despite never having met him, Ms Hart chose cattle farmer Scott Andersen, 45, as a donor because he described himself as “happy and healthy”, according to the Mirror.
Using the internet, Ms Hart was able to track down Mr Andersen, who also teaches Australian rules football.
She decided to contact him through the formal channels of the IVF clinic, allowing him to turn down a request for contact.
Mr Andersen was not legally obliged to meet Leila until she turned 18.
However, upon seeing a picture of his biological daughter, who strongly bears his resemblance, he agreed to connect with her.
Following a period of email correspondence, Mr Andersen met both mother and daughter in Melbourne.
After the meeting, the pair went on to have a relationship and married two years later.
“What happened to Scott and I is such a random thing,” Ms Hart told Channel Nine.
“He was basically just a brief profile on a piece of paper. He could have been anyone. The fact that we met and we liked each other and we fell in love and all of those things are still so far-fetched to me.”
Mr Andersen said that he first agreed to the meeting in order to see Leila but later developed feelings for Ms Hart.
Two other children she gave birth to from previous relationships, Marlon and Louis, both died at a very young age.
She later found out she had a rare genetic disorder which only affected male offspring.
“They were very sick little boys but had very distinct personalities,” Ms Hart told the Mail Online.
“They were human beings and I just wanted to pay tribute to them because they are kind of how I got here.
“You can’t really put it into words. I had two relationships and two children but it wasn’t until the second one that I got a diagnosis of the genetic disorder. I did set out to have a family the conventional way and if I didn’t have them I wouldn’t have Leila or Scott.
“I would have never been looking for a sperm donor or thought to go through IVF to have a baby on my own.”
Ms Hart’s story, recorded in a book, is also due to be turned into a film.
