Nearly 200 children conceived from sperm donor with increased cancer risk

AFP | Copenhagen

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A sperm donor, who is an asymptomatic carrier of a genetic mutation increasing the risk of cancer, was used to conceive nearly 200 children worldwide, Denmark’s public broadcaster revealed yesterday.

Between 2006 and 2022, the man’s sperm was sold to 67 clinics in 14 countries. In Denmark alone, 99 children were fathered by the donor.

“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,” public broadcaster DR reported.

According to DR, Denmark’s European Sperm Bank, one of the largest in the world, was alerted in April 2020 that a child conceived via donation and diagnosed with cancer carried a genetic mutation.

It then tested a sample of the donor’s sperm, but the screening did not detect the rare TP53 mutation.

Sales of the sperm, which had been suspended during testing, then resumed.

Three years later, the sperm bank was informed of at least one other child conceived from a donation with the mutation that had developed cancer.

It then tested several samples, which showed that the donor carried the gene, though he was healthy. The use of his sperm was then blocked in late October 2023.