If you’ve read the news stories about a sperm donor who a unknowingly carried a genetic mutation that raises the risk of cancer, you may have been worried or alarmed. In fact, although the donor fathered almost 200 children across Europe, no one treated at a clinic in the UK had received sperm from this particular donor. It seems that a small number of women from the UK who had travelled to Denmark for treatment had used the donor’s sperm and they have all been informed.
The donor was healthy himself and had passed the screening tests, but up to 20% of his sperm was affected by the genetic mutation. According to a new investigation, his sperm was sent to 67 different fertility clinics in 14 countries, leading to the birth of at least 197 children. This does raise wider questions about the number of times a donor’s sperm can be used. Although individual countries set their own limits, there are no worldwide rules. Apparently the number of donations from this particular donor had actually breached the local limits in some of the countries where the sperm was used.
Peter Thompson, Chief Executive of the HFEA, said, “We can confirm that the Danish Patient Safety Authority has informed us that a very small number of UK women have been treated in Danish Fertility clinics with this sperm donor. We understand that they have been told about the donor by the Danish clinic at which they were treated. As the UK regulator, we only collect or hold information about treatment which takes place in the UK. As the treatment took place at Danish clinics, further enquiries should be directed to the competent authority in Denmark.”
The Fertility Alliance team send our heartfelt sympathy to all those affected by this terrible situation.