cancer gene — A sperm donor whose genetic mutation has condemned at least 197 children across Europe to a 90% chance of developing cancer fathered no children in Cyprus, the Health Ministry has confirmed.
- A sperm donor whose genetic mutation has condemned at least 197 children across Europe to a 90% chance of developing cancer fathered no children in Cyprus, the Health Ministry has confirmed.
The donor, an anonymous Danish man, unknowingly carried a genetic defect that disables the body’s primary defence against cancer. His sperm was used for 17 years, starting from 2005, and distributed to 14 countries, including Cyprus.
Fortunately, strict national laws in Cyprus limit each sperm donor’s use to a single family, which provided a layer of protection against potential risks associated with this donor’s genetic background. An investigation launched last spring, when the first 67 affected children were identified, confirmed no child was born in Cyprus from his donations, despite his sperm reaching the island.
A recent investigation by the BBC revealed that the scale of this issue has nearly tripled, with at least 197 children affected across Europe. However, authorities caution that the final tally may be higher, as data is still pending from various countries.
Dr Edwige Kasper, a cancer geneticist at Rouen University Hospital in France, highlighted the severity of the situation at the European Conference on Human Genetics this year. “We have many children who have already developed cancer. We have some children who have already presented with two different cancers and some have already died at a very young age,” she stated.
The genetic mutation in question affects the TP53 gene, which plays a crucial role in preventing cells from becoming cancerous. Alarmingly, up to 20% of the donor’s sperm carried this dangerous variant. Any child conceived using this sperm would inherit the mutation in every cell of their body—a condition known as Li Fraumeni syndrome. This syndrome dramatically increases cancer risk, particularly during childhood, and breast cancer risk later in life.
<pInterestingly, the donor himself and his family are reportedly healthy, having passed all screening tests. The European Sperm Bank acknowledged that such mutations “are not detected preventively with genetic testing,” which explains how this significant flaw went undetected during safety checks.
However, the bank made critical missteps in managing the donor’s case. In April 2020, they temporarily blocked the donor after a cancer diagnosis in a child conceived from his sperm. Following testing, the bank declared the result negative and re-approved him. It wasn’t until October 2023 that they permanently blocked him while conducting a new analysis. This means that for 18 months after the initial cancer diagnosis, his sperm remained available for use.
The story first gained traction last June when Belgian newspaper Le Soir reported that 52 children had been conceived from the donor in Belgium alone between 2008 and 2017. Further investigations revealed that 67 children across Europe had been conceived from the same donor, with 52 in Belgium. The Belgian Health Ministry subsequently alerted other European countries, including Cyprus, about the potential risks involved.
As of now, the Health Ministry’s Medically Assisted Reproduction Council has been monitoring the situation closely. At its most recent meeting, sources indicated that, based on current data, no concerns have arisen for Cyprus. The ministry has remained vigilant since the first affected children were identified last spring.
Despite the European Sperm Bank’s assurance that they “immediately blocked” the donor upon discovering the issue, the timeline suggests otherwise. It remains unclear how many of the 197 children inherited the dangerous mutation, but those affected face a lifetime shadowed by cancer risk—something that regulators failed to prevent.
