Missing Pieces

On 7News Spotlight Ashlee Mullany reports on difficulties in conception, sperm donation, desperate measures and legalities.

Making a family doesn't come easily for everyone, and for some Australians it's becoming almost impossible.

As the nation's donor shortages increase and regulations tighten, hopeful parents are being forced into expensive, complex, and in some cases risky alternatives, in their attempts to conceive.

In this week's 7NEWS Spotlight to air on Sunday at 8.30pm on Seven and 7plus, correspondent Ashlee Mullany investigates the growing fallout from Australia's strict sperm donation laws, and the unintended consequences now driving a booming underground market.

With demand far outstripping supply, desperate Australians are turning to private donors operating outside the system – a shadowy underground market with no limits, no oversight and no guarantees.

7NEWS Spotlight reveals the confronting reality of this booming trade, where some black market donors claim to have fathered hundreds of children, raising serious ethical and safety concerns, especially for the children born as a result.

As calls for reform grow louder, this is a powerful look at the cost of the system as it stands, and the deeply personal toll on those who are desperately trying to start a family.