After three years of trying to conceive, a married couple in the Netherlands in their early 30s learned they could not have a child because the husband produced no sperm. They did not want to use sperm donated from a stranger, partly because this would mean the child would not share genes with the husband's side of the family. But because the husband had no brothers to donate, the couple seemed at a loss on how to pass on his gene pool.

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They use archery, swiftness and brute strength to compete against each other but, luckily, the participants in these games -- which take place at a gym in New York -- will still be alive at the end of the day.

Then the couple thought of an unconventional solution: Use sperm from the husband's father. The child produced from this union of egg and sperm would have a "father" who was his biological half- brother, and a "grandfather" who was his biological father.

As all parties were comfortable with the decision, the couple went to a fertility clinic with their request. After much deliberation, including a discussion with the hospital ethics committee, the clinic eventually decided to honor the couple's wishes.

Though not common, donations of sperm, egg or womb from family members to couples trying to conceive are not technically illegal, and do happen. Such arrangements have potential advantages over using donations from strangers, but they bring their own set of complications, including potential confusion regarding who the child's parent is, say researchers who detail these complexities in a case report of the Netherlands' couple published online March 7 in the journal Human Reproduction. Experts have varying views on the issue, but most agree so-called intrafamilial assisted reproduction should not necessarily be banned, and can perhaps work in some circumstances. However, any couples who decided to enter this territory should tread carefully, say experts.

"I dont know that laws should encompass forbidding intrafamilial donation," said Adrienne Asch, director of the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University in New York City. But couples who request it "should be very carefully counseled about the psychological pitfalls that could await them," Asch said.

Ethical problems

Couples may turn to family members to assist with reproduction for many reasons. Some, like the couple in the Netherlands, want to have a genetic tie with their child. Others may wish to cut down on the time and money needed for the procedure, according to a position statement from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

However, one concern in these situations is that the person who donates will want to act as a parent to the child. In the case of the couple from the Netherlands, the "grandfather" may find it hard to resist inserting himself into the family, said Arthur Caplan, bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Father-to-son sperm donation: 'Too bizarre'?