A Sperm Donor With a “Cancer-Causing Gene” Fathered Nearly 200 Children in Europe

Much has been made in recent years about extracting the DNA of different species and playing mad scientists. With DNA on the mind, the latest report of an investigation into a sperm donor with a cancer-causing gene affecting hundreds of children born from his sperm is troubling and unsettling, to say the least.

Indeed, a sperm donor began donating sperm in exchange for payment two decades ago, and an investigation has revealed that those who were born from his sperm may be in trouble.

If you have not yet learned about the story of the sperm donor with a cancer-causing gene whose sperm was used for the births of hundreds of children in Europe, you are in for a wild and confusing ride. Below, we report on this investigation, as well as what comes next for the hundreds of children who may have been affected by this gene.

Continue reading to learn more about the results of this investigation and how the man and those born from his sperm have been impacted.

According to a report in the BBC, a sperm donor was unaware that he possessed a cancer-causing genetic mutation in his DNA, but nevertheless donated his sperm for approximately 17 years at various clinics, leading to the births of at least 197 children throughout Europe.

Tragically, per the BBC report, some of those 197 children have already died, and inheriting the genetic mutation leaves the surviving children with only a small chance of "[escaping] cancer in their lifetimes."

"The investigation has been conducted by 14 public service broadcasters, including the BBC, as part of the European Broadcasting Union's Investigative Journalism Network," per the BBC report. "The sperm came from an anonymous man who was paid to donate as a student, starting in 2005. His sperm was then used by women for around 17 years."

Indeed, it is incredibly troubling to think that screening or other clinical measures failed to detect this genetic mutation. Yet, speaking to this concern, the BBC reports that: "He is healthy and passed the donor screening checks. However, the DNA in some of his cells mutated before he was born."

The mutated cells impacted the donor's TP53 gene, which works to prevent the cells in the body from becoming cancerous.

According to the BBC, "any children made from affected sperm will have the mutation in every cell of their body. This is known as Li Fraumeni syndrome and comes with an up to 90% chance of developing cancer, particularly during childhood as well as breast cancer later in life."

As for the surviving children who were born from the man's sperm, MRI scans of the body and brain, and abdominal ultrasounds are going to be necessary every year to detect abnormalities within the body.