Unlikely Love Story: Woman Falls For Sperm Donor

This Australian couple did everything backwards.

Aminah Hart had Scott Andersen’s daughter before they even had their first kiss — or even met!

After losing her two boys to a rare, genetic disorder, Aminah decided to try in vitro fertilization, or IVF, using sperm from a donor. The procedure worked, and Aminah gave birth to a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter whom she named Leila.

Aminah, who is half West Indian, is much darker-complected, with dark hair and dark eyes. The fact that her daughter gave birth to the much fairer-colored Leila got Aminah’s mother, Helen, curious — who was the sperm donor who resulted in Leila?

Helen, like many others in this age of technology and social media, turned to Google with what she and her daughter already knew about the anonymous sperm donor.

Aminah had chosen a man that she believed had the sort of qualities she would like her own child to have, and so she chose a man who described himself in his profile as “happy and easy-going,” and with a strong work ethic. He also already had four healthy children, and the sperm he donated had been in “quarantine” since 2010 before Aminah chose it in 2011, which meant that the sperm bank had time to ascertain that there were no diseases.

Health, of course, was a key priority to a mother who had already suffered the devastating loss of two little boys to x-linked myotubular myopathy. “He also had a really clean genetic background and there wasn’t anything lurking in his family in terms of disability … I also looked at mental health because my own resilience had been what got me through the trauma I experienced and I wanted a child as equally resilient,” Aminah said.

As for the profile of her chosen sperm donor, Aminah said, “You don’t get a photo, it’s literally just a profile — less than a LinkedIn page, with vital statistics, age, body build, hair color, interests as a kid, and job.”

So Helen already knew that the sperm donor she was searching for was blond, with blue eyes, and was a cattle rancher as well as an amateur football coach. She soon struck across the name Scott Andersen.

Since Andersen had indicated that he would be fine with meeting any potential children, Aminah reached out to Scott with the help of the fertility clinic. Scott says that, when he said he would be willing to meet any potential children, he had pictured it in the far future, when he was “ancient.” But soon the two were sending emails back and forth, and Scott asked if he could meet Leila. The visit went great, and soon the three were meeting every few weeks –and then weekly — and then twice a week.

Scott was transforming from a sperm donor into a father. And Aminah found herself falling for her daughter’s father.

Luckily, the feeling was mutual. Scott claims he was so nervous about the first kiss that he cannot remember who initiated it, but ten months later, the couple — and their daughter — are still going strong.

Aminah says that Scott Andersen has given her so much more than a beautiful daughter — that he has given her a new beginning, as well.

For another touching, true love story, read about how one man celebrated his love for his dying wife with the use of a tutu.

[Image via BuzzFeed]