Belgium in the spell of mass donor with cancer gene

In Belgium, 52 children are conceived by a Danish seed donor with a carcinogenic gene in his sperm. That happened in the period between 2007 and 2018. In some of those cases the carcinogenic gene has been passed on. This week 37 involved mothers were told the news.

The children are designated for genetic research. For privacy reasons, it was not disclosed in how many cases have already been established with the affected Belgian families. The case causes a lot of dust in Belgium. Although the donor at the time according to the applicable medical guidelines was tested as healthy – where no diseases or a disease in the family were found – another important rule was violated.

The seed of one donor may only be used in Belgium with a maximum of six women. The seed of the donor was used in twelve different Belgian fertility clinics. The fertility centers state that they could not check how often sperm from the same donor was used in other clinics, because the sperm donations took place anonymously.

At least 67 children throughout Europe

The business was rolling in Copenhagen in 2023 when the European Sperm Bank approached fertility clinics about an ongoing investigation into the Danish donor. That was started after two families had reported with a rare cancer diagnosis with their donor end.

Throughout Europe, at least 67 children with the seed of the donor are conceived. More than a third of them are the carrier of a mutation in the so-called TP53 gene, which exposes them to cancer at a young age. Europe-wide is known that ten of the 67 children with cancer have been diagnosed, including leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In the Netherlands there are probably no children with the donor seed in question.

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the phenomenon of mass donors, where donation restrictions per country are more than exceeded. The most sensational issue concerns the Dutch mass donor Jonathan Meijer, who deliberately donated his seed to hundreds of wish parents. The business made his Netflix debut last year in the documentary The Man With 1000 Kids.

Edwige Kasper, the biologist at the University Hospital of Rouen in France who presented the cancer case at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Milan, argues for a ‘European limit’ in the number of births or families of a single donor. « We can’t portray the whole genome of all sperm donors, » she told The Guardian. « But this concerns the abnormal spread of genetic diseases. Not every man has dozens of children throughout Europe. »

Senior rule

Since last year, there has been a central register for Donors in Belgium, following another case with a massadonor that came to light. Because there was a limitation period, this was not followed. The register serves to be able to apply the ‘six -woman rule’, even in the case of anonymity.

Historical data is missing in the system, but in response to these new affair, Belgium has investigated whether it is feasible to update the register with retroactive effect. The Belgian Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke: « In a short time, families have been poured into turbulent waters. This is very tragic. » According to the minister, the current case is ‘exceptional’.

There is a dissatisfaction with interest group Donorkinderen about how Belgium deals with the donor scandal and the absence of a public excuse, reports Flemish media.