A major investigation has revealed that a sperm donor who unknowingly harboured a genetic mutation that dramatically raises the risk of cancer has fathered at least 197 children across Europe.
The sperm, which came from an anonymous man who was paid to donate as a student, starting in 2005, was sold by Denmark’s European Sperm Bank. Women then used the sperm for around 17 years, the investigation reveals.
According to a report by the BBC, some children have already died, and only a minority who inherit the mutation will escape cancer in their lifetimes.
Although the sperm was not sold to UK clinics, it is reported that a “minimal” number of British families, who have been informed, used the donor’s sperm while having fertility treatment in Denmark.
The bank said the families affected had their “deepest sympathy” and admitted the sperm was used to make too many babies in some countries.
While the donor is healthy and passed the donor screening checks, it has been found that the DNA in some of his cells had mutated before he was born.
The investigation, conducted by 14 European public service broadcasters, including the BBC, shows that most of the donor’s body does not contain the dangerous form of TP53, but up to 20% of his sperm do.
“It is a dreadful diagnosis,” Prof Clare Turnbull, a cancer geneticist at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, told the BBC. “It’s a very challenging diagnosis to land on a family. There is a lifelong burden of living with that risk. It’s clearly devastating.”
