Around 200 children in several countries were conceived with sperm from a single donor who unknowingly carried a rare genetic mutation linked to early-onset cancers, it has been revealed.The consequences have been devastating. Several children have already died, and many families across Europe are now facing a risk they never expected.
The case has prompted urgent questions. How was one donor used so widely? Why did standard safeguards fail to identify a mutation that can have such severe consequences?
And how did a system created to create families allow a tragedy of this scale? When someone donates sperm or eggs, they are screened for a set of common inherited conditions before being accepted by a clinic.
The exact process varies by country, and it has limitations. Screening depends heavily on accurate family history, yet many people have incomplete information about their relatives.
Some conditions emerge later in adulthood, which means a young donor may appear healthy.
Clinics also focus primarily on established, higher frequency conditions rather than the vast number of rare variants that exist.
Ordinarily, donors complete a detailed questionnaire covering their medical background and their family’s health history.
If the information suggests a possible inherited risk, the donor may be offered further testing or, more commonly, they may be declined.