Sperm Donor with Cancer-Causing Gene Fathers Nearly 200 Children Across Europe
Genetic Mutation in Donor Sperm Poses Lifetime Cancer Risk to Nearly 200 Children
- Sperm donor with TP53 gene mutation fathers at least 197 children across Europe.
- Up to 20% of donor’s sperm carries the cancer-causing mutation.
- Children conceived with affected sperm inherit the mutation in all cells, raising lifelong cancer risk.
A sperm donor carrying a genetic mutation that significantly increases the risk of cancer has fathered at least 197 children across Europe, according to a major investigation.
Some of these children have already passed away, and only a small number of those who inherit the mutation are expected to avoid developing cancer in their lifetimes.
Although the donor’s sperm was not distributed to clinics in the UK, the BBC confirmed that a very small number of British families used it while undergoing fertility treatment in Denmark and have since been informed.
Denmark’s European Sperm Bank, which provided the donor sperm, expressed its “deepest sympathy” to affected families and acknowledged that the sperm had been used to conceive too many children in certain countries.
The investigation, conducted by 14 public service broadcasters including the BBC through the European Broadcasting Union’s Investigative Journalism Network, revealed that the donor began giving sperm in 2005 while he was a student, and it was used for roughly 17 years.
Although the donor is healthy and passed standard screening tests, a mutation in the TP53 gene—critical for preventing cells from becoming cancerous—was present in about 20% of his sperm. While the majority of his body does not carry the mutation, any child conceived with affected sperm will inherit the mutation in every cell of their body, dramatically increasing their lifetime cancer risk.
