No evidence Dutch children conceived with cancer-linked donor sperm, officials say

Dutch authorities say there is currently no evidence that children in the Netherlands were conceived using sperm from a donor carrying a cancer-causing gene, according to State Secretary Karremans of Youth, Prevention, and Sports, NOS reported.

This statement follows reports from Belgian Health Minister Vandenbroucke, who said that between 2008 and 2017, 52 children in Belgium were conceived with sperm from a donor carrying a cancer-linked gene. Belgian media reported the sperm had been used in eleven European countries, including the Netherlands.

Karremans said this information appears inaccurate. The European Sperm Bank (ESB), which handled the donor’s sperm, contacted all clinics using that donor’s material, and none were located in the Netherlands. “I have asked the Dutch Association for Obstetrics and Gynecology (NVOG) to inform me if any Dutch families were involved,” Karremans said.

The case involves a sperm donor who was later found to carry a mutated TP53 gene, which is linked to cancer. The man, whose nationality has not been disclosed, allegedly donated sperm through the Danish sperm bank ESB between 2008 and 2015.

British newspaper The Guardian, which first revealed the story, reported that at least 67 children across eight European countries were conceived with this donor’s sperm. Of those, 23 tested positive for the gene mutation, which increases their risk of developing cancer at a young age, and ten children have already developed cancer.

It remains unclear whether the donor’s genetic mutation was known during the years he donated. ESB maintains that he underwent thorough testing. The total number of children conceived with the donor’s sperm is also unknown.

Vandenbroucke said the Belgian Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products is investigating how many parents have tested their children for the gene mutation and how many of those tests returned positive.