The semen of a Danish donor carrying a genetic mutation that increases the risk of cancer was used to conceive almost 200 children around the world, the Danish public broadcaster DR revealed this Wednesday, December 10th.
“At least 197 children were born thanks to the sperm of an anonymous Danish donor using the pseudonym Kjeld, before the sperm bank discovered a serious genetic abnormality”reported DR, which conducted the investigation in collaboration with 13 other European public broadcasters.
The Danish sperm bank, European Sperm Bank (ESB), one of the largest in the world, was notified in April 2020 that a child conceived through sperm donation and diagnosed with cancer had a genetic mutation, the public broadcaster added.
A sample of the donor’s semen was then tested, but the test did not reveal the rare mutation of the gene in question, TP53. The sale of this semen, which had been suspended during the tests, was resumed.
Three years later, the sperm bank was again informed that at least one child born from a donation had the mutation and had been diagnosed with cancer.
Several sperm samples were then tested, which showed that the donor was a healthy carrier. His sperm was blocked at the end of October 2023.
Between 2006 and 2022, this sperm was sold to 67 clinics in 14 countries, according to DR.
To the agency France-Presse (AFP), the Danish Patient Safety Agency indicated that 99 children were born from this donor’s sperm after treatment in a Danish clinic.
“Based on our investigation of all fertility clinics in Denmark that, according to the ESB, used sperm from the donor in question, (…) 49 children were born to women resident in Denmark and 50 children were born to women resident outside Denmark”the agency told AFP.
“The specific mutation is a rare and previously unknown alteration of the TP53 gene, present only in a small fraction of the donor’s sperm and not in the rest of his body. The donor himself is not affected”explained the European Semen Bank in a statement.
The mutation could not be detected by previous genetic tests and not all children conceived from this donation have the mutation, highlighted the company, which is proud to have contributed to the birth of more than 70 thousand children around the world in the last 20 years.
Many European countries have national regulations that limit the number of children per donor — 12 in Denmark and 10 in France — but there are no international regulations that define the number of children a donor can produce across national borders.
At the end of 2022, the European Semen Bank established a maximum limit of 75 families per donor.