Denmark’s European Sperm Bank, one of the world’s largest, has confirmed that nearly 200 children worldwide were conceived using sperm from an anonymous donor who was later discovered to be an asymptomatic carrier of a genetic mutation that significantly increases the risk of cancer.
Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, revealed the shocking development on Wednesday, stating, “At least 197 children were born thanks to the sperm of an anonymous Danish donor using the alias Kjeld before the sperm bank discovered a serious genetic abnormality.”
Discovery and Failed Screening
The crisis began in April 2020 when the European Sperm Bank was alerted that a child conceived via the donor had been diagnosed with cancer and carried a genetic mutation.
Sales of the donor’s sperm were suspended while the bank tested a sample. Critically, the initial screening failed to detect the rare TP53 mutation, leading the bank to resume sales shortly afterward.
Three years later, the bank received a second alert regarding at least one other child conceived from the donation who had developed cancer with the same mutation. Subsequent testing of several samples showed that the donor carried the gene, despite remaining healthy himself. The use of his sperm was finally blocked in late October 2023.
Scope of the Exposure
Between 2006 and 2022, the donor’s sperm was sold to 67 clinics in 14 countries.
* In Denmark alone, 99 children were fathered by the donor.
* The European Sperm Bank has been involved in the births of more than 70,000 children worldwide over two decades.
The sperm bank issued a statement clarifying the mutation’s nature: “The specific mutation is a rare and previously undescribed TP53 mutation that is only found in a small part of the donor’s sperm cells and not in the rest of the body, as the donor himself is not affected.”
The company insisted that the mutation could not have been detected by their prior genetic screening methods and emphasized that not all children conceived from the donor carry the mutation.
Regulatory Gaps
The incident has highlighted major regulatory gaps in cross-border donor practices. While many European countries limit the number of children per donor domestically, there are currently no international regulations governing the number of children a donor can father across borders.
The European Sperm Bank itself set a maximum of 75 families per donor only at the end of 2022.
