Cancer Linked Donor Sperm Used in 67 Births Across Europe, 10 Children Diagnosed: Report

New Delhi: A rare and concerning case has come to light in Europe, where the sperm of a man carrying a cancer-causing genetic mutation was used to conceive at least 67 children across eight countries.

As reported by The Guardian, 10 of these children have since developed cancer, prompting renewed calls for stricter international regulations on sperm donation.

The children were born between 2008 and 2015 using sperm from a donor who was later found to carry a rare variant in the TP53 gene. This mutation is associated with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, one of the most serious inherited cancer predisposition syndromes.

The link was uncovered when two families independently contacted their fertility clinics after their children were diagnosed with cancer, including leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Dr Edwige Kasper, a biologist at Rouen University Hospital in France, presented the case at the annual European Society of Human Genetics conference in Milan. “We need to have a European limit on the number of births or families for a single donor,” she said. “This is the abnormal dissemination of genetic disease. Not every man has 75 children across Europe.”

Kasper’s lab analyzed the TP53 variant using genetic databases, prediction tools, and functional studies. She concluded that the mutation was “probably cancer-causing” and advised that children born from this donor receive genetic counselling. So far, the variant has been found in 23 of the 67 children tested.

While the donor is reportedly healthy and the mutation was not known to be cancer-causing at the time of donation, experts say the case reveals serious flaws in cross-border sperm donation systems. The European Sperm Bank, which supplied the sperm, has confirmed that the donor’s sperm was used for more than 67 children but declined to reveal exact numbers. It enforces a global limit of 75 families per donor and said it had alerted all relevant clinics.

“This remains a concern,” Kasper added. “Is 67 the total? It’s a really good question that I’ve asked the sperm bank. They didn’t want to tell me the denominator of the births for this donor.”

Prof Nicky Hudson from De Montfort University, Leicester, emphasized the broader implications. “The important issues at stake here relate to the large number of affected children – which would be limited if only used within one country,” she said. She also highlighted the complexities of tracking medical issues when human gametes are shipped and used internationally.

Children carrying the TP53 mutation are now advised to undergo regular whole-body MRI scans, brain MRIs, and, as adults, breast and abdominal screenings to monitor for early signs of cancer.

The case underscores the urgent need for globally harmonized rules on donor sperm usage, especially in the context of international fertility treatments.