Mathias Busekist
It has led to calls for stricter regulations.
A man unknowingly carrying a rare genetic mutation linked to cancer fathered at least 67 children across Europe through sperm donations, sparking urgent calls for tighter regulation of fertility practices and limits on the number of births from a single donor.
The sperm, used between 2008 and 2015, resulted in children across 46 families in eight European countries, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, according to Edwige Kasper, a biologist at Rouen University Hospital. Speaking at the European Society of Human Genetics conference in Milan on Saturday, Kasper revealed that at least 10 of the donor-conceived children have since developed cancers, including brain tumors and Hodgkin lymphoma.
“The root of the issue appears to be the lack of regulation on how many children can be conceived from a single donor,” Kasper said.
Genetic analysis identified that the donor, who remains healthy, carries a mutation in the TP53 gene associated with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare disorder that dramatically increases cancer risk. The mutation was undetected at the time of donation.
Thirteen additional children have been found to carry the gene but have not developed cancer. Due to their elevated risk, they now face a lifetime of rigorous medical screening, including full-body and brain MRIs, breast scans for adults, abdominal ultrasounds, and regular specialist exams.
“This monitoring is stressful and burdensome, but early detection has already improved outcomes for some patients,” Kasper noted in a press release.
Unlike notorious cases involving serial sperm donors — such as a Dutch man who fathered hundreds of children globally — this individual donated only to a single private facility: the European Sperm Bank in Denmark.
Julie Paulli Budtz, the bank’s vice president of corporate communications, said the organization is “deeply affected” by the case.
“The donor was tested above required standards, but genetic screening has its limits,” Budtz said in a statement. “It’s not possible to identify every disease-causing mutation unless you know exactly what to look for.”
Currently, no unified cap exists on how many children can be born from one donor across Europe. National limits vary — France caps it at 10 births, Denmark at 12, and Germany at 15. The European Sperm Bank has voluntarily imposed a higher international limit of 75 families per donor, but experts say this isn’t enough.