A serious medical problem is happening in Europe. It started with a sperm donor from Denmark. His genetic material was used for many children for almost 20 years. Sadly, he had a strong chance of getting cancer. This problem involves at least 197 children born from this donor in many countries. It shows big problems with how fertility clinics work internationally. Families are now very sad and worried about their children's health.
The donor was a student. His identity is secret. He gave sperm to the European Sperm Bank (ESB) in Denmark in 2005. For 17 years, his donations went to clinics in 14 countries. He did not know he had a gene change called TP53. This gene change is linked to Li-Fraumeni syndrome. This syndrome greatly increases the risk of many cancers. The gene change was only in some of his sperm. This is called mosaicism. His body cells were fine.
This issue became clear in spring 2023. A group of 14 European broadcasters investigated. They found that 23 out of 67 children tested had the gene change. Sadly, 10 of these children already had cancer. Some had cancer many times. Some died very young. Dr. Edwige Kasper, a cancer expert, spoke about the bad situation.
The European Sperm Bank is being questioned. They stopped using the donor in April 2020. This was after a child got cancer. However, he was allowed to donate again. This was after tests seemed normal. A better genetic test in 2023 found the TP53 gene change. He was stopped from donating forever in October 2023. This makes people ask if current screening methods are good enough.
This problem is across Europe. Different countries have different rules. In Cyprus, laws limit one donor to one family. Therefore, no children were born there from this donor. This shows that rules for fertility treatments are not the same everywhere.
Affected families have a big emotional and medical challenge. Professor Claire Turnbull said the situation is very serious. Children with the gene change will need careful checks. They will always have the risk of getting sick. This case makes people talk again. They want better genetic tests for donors. They also want better ways to track donors internationally. They are also thinking about how many children one donor can have. Health officials are contacting families. This case is a sad reminder of unexpected problems.