As recipes for motherhood go, being single, nearly 40 and desperate for a baby is not a good mix - so when Jess Nuremberg found herself in this position, she knew she had to take drastic action. 

Three years ago, the 44-year-old, from Los Angeles, decided to become a 'single mother by choice', totally bypassing the need to meet a partner and potential father by buying a stranger's sperm online.

She chose her future child's father from Xytex, a US-based sperm bank, selecting a  donor that she believed 'aligned with her values' - unbeknown to her at the time, this was the easiest part of her journey to motherhood. 

A year after welcoming her much longed-for daughter, Kaia, now 1, she discovered that she has nearly fifty siblings, after being invited to a Facebook group by another woman who had used the same donor. 

Here, she discovered that Kaia has a 'community of half siblings' - all around the same age as her.

Ms Nuremberg said: 'Finding the Facebook group was overwhelming at first, but once I met the other mums I began to form real connections.

'My daughter has 47 siblings, all under four years old.

'She may not have siblings in the home, but she has a community of half siblings.

'I hope Kaia forms long lasting relationships with her siblings and that a true extended family grows out of them.

'The group has made me feel far less alone, what could have been an isolating journey is now shared with so many others.'

There is no legal cap on how many children a sperm donor can sire in the US, but Xytex is reported to have its own internal limits on how many children can be produced from one donor, with some online forums claiming that the limit is 80. 

In 2023, serial Xytex donor Dylan Stone-Miller, 32, revealed that he was on a mission to meet the 96 children who had been produced from sperm donations made during his twenties - and, mirroring Ms Nuremberg's situation, he had identified them all via a Facebook group named after his donor ID. 

It is not known if Kaia's 47 half siblings are from as many mothers, or if they are part of larger families created with the donor's sperm - which is regarded as being acceptable by geneticists.

Ms Nuremberg hopes that her daughter will form lasting relationships with her siblings and that 'a true extended family grows out of them' - and it's a situation which a decade ago would have been inconceivable.

At the age of 33, after a terrible break-up, she had 34 of her eggs frozen so that she could still become a mother in the future, even if she didn't meet her perfect man. 

Seven years later, the business developer defrosted 17 of her 34 eggs, but none of them made viable embryos, and she was faced with a difficult decision once again: defrost the rest of her eggs or try IVF. 

She said: 'I had this belief that if you freeze your eggs in your 30s, you're going to be protected from having children in the future. It was a huge gut punch.'

Determined to have a child of her own and unfazed by what other people thought of her starting a one-parent family, she went through six rounds of IVF, resulting in three healthy embryos, fertilised with the donor's sperm. 

She was put on a 'cocktail of medications' including steroids and blood thinners which can help reduce the risk of miscarriage and support implantation and her first embryo was successfully implanted in 2023. 

Ms Nuremberg said: 'When I heard her heartbeat for the first time, that was when I realised I'm going to be a mum and I'm doing it all alone. 

'I felt fear, happiness, joy, the highs and the lows came in that moment.'  

In May 2024, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Kaia, which she described as 'one of the most magical moments' of her life - and loneliest. 

She said: 'I took an Uber by myself to the hospital as my waters broke early and there was no one there to support me. 

'Giving birth alone was one of the most magical moments, because I realised I'm empowered to do all of this by myself.' 

But Ms Nuremberg says she has still found it very difficult at times - as she is forced to make all the big decisions on her own, and is living almost pay cheque to pay cheque after hiring a live in nanny.

'She's like a second mum, helping me raise her,' Ms Nuremberg said. 

'Every moment of motherhood so far I have loved so much, from the adorable newborn stage, to now where she can talk and she's an incredible little human.'

'But there's a lot of financial hardship that comes with doing it alone.' 

The single mother spends $5,000 (£3,720) a month on childcare and schooling for her daughter, with an additional $500 (£370) attributed to food, clothing and other expenses. 

'Now my pay cheque comes in, and the money comes straight back out again, but it's for a very good reason,' she added. 

'The hardest part is making all of the choices - such as which nanny to hire or which preschool she should go to - alone, and not having a second opinion.

'Doing what I have done is an incredible path to motherhood, but it is a privileged path, as the cost of having children is extraordinarily high.' 

Ms Nuremberg has wondered what dating will be like as a single mother but has resolved that its is 'no different' to being a divorced or 'widowed woman.' 

Thankfully, thanks to the new friends she has made in the Facebook group, she no longer has to contemplate doing parenting totally alone on a 'very isolating journey'.

First up for the group of single mums is a planned trip to Disneyland later this month.  

In 2016, a couple from Ontario in Canada sued Xytex alleging they were misled about the medical and social history of their donor - they believed he was a graduate but in reality was an ex-con with schizophrenia. 

Ms Collins, a 45-year-old teacher, told The Mirror they thought they were being 'more responsible than picking up a hitchhiker' when they chose Chris Aggeles, who was billed as having an IQ of 160.

She said: 'Our hearts just sank [when we found out the truth]. It was like a lead ball went to the bottom of our stomach, for both my partner and I.

'Sadly there is no book for how to tell your child his donor is an ex-con who suffers from serious mental health issues.' 

Aggeles' sperm, which was sold between 2000 and 2014, has been used to create 19 boys and 17 girls from 26 families.