An Irish man who donated his sperm to a lesbian couple, enabling one of them to have a baby boy, has lost his High Court bid for guardianship of the boy and access to him, reports RTE News. The landmark case was taken by a 41-year-old gay man known only as A, who agreed in August 2005 to donate sperm to a lesbian couple. He signed an agreement with them that he would not occupy the role of father but that he would have the role of a 'favourite uncle' and his access to the child would be at the discretion of the couple. The child was born in May 2006. After the birth, the couple told the Court, the man seemed to change his view of his role and see himself as a father. In his ruling, Mr Justice John Hedigan found that A had misled the couple as to his true intentions in entering into the sperm donation agreement. He found that the welfare of the child was best served by the little boy continuing in the care, custody and guardianship of the lesbian couple and that the man should not get any court ordered access. He also found that where a lesbian couple live together in a long term committed relationship, they could be regarded as being a de facto family and enjoy family rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. More on this story is available on the link below.