A sperm donor who, unknowingly, carried a genetic mutation that greatly increases the risk of cancer, has fathered at least 197 children across several European countries, including Greece, according to an extensive journalistic investigation.
The European Sperm Bank in Denmark, which sold the man’s sperm, expressed its “deepest sympathy” for the families and acknowledged that it was used for the conception of the children, some of whom have already died, while few are expected to escape cancer during their lifetimes.
The man is healthy and had passed donor screening tests. Nevertheless, the DNA in some of his cells had undergone a mutation before he was born. This destroyed the TP53 gene, which plays a critical role in preventing the body’s cells from becoming cancerous.
The sperm came from an anonymous man who was paid for his donation as a student, starting in 2005.
The dangerous TP53 mutation is absent from most of his body but is present in up to 20% of his sperm.
However, children conceived from this sperm will carry the mutation in every cell of their body.
This condition is known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome and is associated with up to a 90% likelihood of developing cancer, particularly during childhood, as well as breast cancer later in life.
Source: BBC
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