Year 12 student is shocked to discover she has SIX siblings through the same sperm donor father - but can't meet them because of a law in Tasmania

•  Lottie Frohmader, 17, always knew she was conceived with sperm from a donor
• She didn't expect to find out she was one of seven children from the same donor
• The laws in her state mean she may never be able to track her six siblings down 
• The teenager is speaking out for law reforms to help donor-conceived children

A teenage girl who wants to thank her biological father for being her sperm donor has called for state laws to be changed so she can meet her six biological half-siblings.

Lottie Frohmader, 17, grew up in Hobart, Tasmania, knowing she was conceived with sperm from a donor.

The Year 12 student told Daily Mail Australia she had always planned on meeting her donor when she turned 18 to say 'thank you' for helping her mother Carolyn Frohmader have a child

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'I just want to say thank you to him and just express how grateful I am to him, otherwise my mum would never have been able to have me so it's a pretty amazing thing that he did.'

But when the state's fertility clinic TasIVF told Carolyn that her daughter's donor father had six more children, the teenager was shocked.

'When I was first told about the siblings, I didn't even consider there could be other offspring from the same donor,' she said.

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Lottie Frohmader (pictured with her mother Carolyn( always planned on meeting her donor when she turned 18 to say 'thank you'

Struck by curiosity, Ms Frohmader admitted to looking through social media from time to time, wondering if she had scrolled past a half-sibling.

'The funny thing is they might look nothing like me, but sometimes I just have a look. Tasmania's not a massive place. What if I know them already and have no idea?' 

Tasmanian donor-conceived children are legally able to access information about their biological father from the age of 18. 

But unlike some other Australian states, Tasmania doesn't have a registry where children can go for information on their extended biological families - preventing Ms Frohmader from meeting her half-siblings.

'I know that I have six donor siblings. I know their genders and their ages and I think they're all in Tasmania, but I can't find out anything else about them.'

'There's not a central registry in Tasmania that I can sign up to.' 

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Lottie Frohmader admitted to looking through social media from time to time, wondering if she had scrolled past a half-sibling.

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The only way Lottie Frohmader would be able to meet her siblings would be if they arranged to meet their shared donor father and asked him to put them in touch

A parliamentary inquiry in 2017 looked in to sperm donation in Tasmania - a key recommendation was that the state implement a registry for donor-conceived children, but no such measure has been put in place.

The only way Ms Frohmader would be able to meet her siblings would be if they arranged to meet their shared donor father and asked him to put them in touch.

She also acknowledged that her siblings may not know they were conceived with the help of a sperm donor and understands she may never find out who they are.

'I've always known how I was conceived, but I know not all families are like that and I wouldn't want to cause them any distress if they don't know.'

Ms Frohmader said she doesn't agree with keeping sperm donation a secret and wants to speak out about it to 'remove the shame around donor conception'.

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Carolyn is in full support of her Lottie's quest to meet her biological relatives and added that sperm donation was her only chance at having a child

While meeting her biological father and siblings is an important step, she said it isn't something she 'needs' to do and doesn't think of her donor as her dad.

'He's my donor - he's not my dad. I would like to keep in touch if he's keen, but I don't need to have a relationship with him.'

'My mum is a single mother by choice. She was too old for adaption so it's the only way she could have had me, and I'm really grateful. My mum is amazing.'

Carolyn is in full support of her daughter's quest to meet her biological relatives and added that sperm donation was her only chance at having a child.

'How do you thank someone for that?' she asked.

'Lottie is the love of my life. I was never able to have any more children. She was three months premature. I'd do it again and again.'