Sperm Donor With Genetic Mutation Linked To Cancer Fathered 67 Children, 10 Of Them Now Diagnosed With Cancers

Source: Africa Publicity

A sperm donor with a rare genetic mutation linked to cancer fathered 67 children across Europe and 10 of those children are now reportedly diagnosed with various types of cancer including brain tumors. 

The development has prompted calls for greater regulation and a limit on the number of births allowed from a single donor, a report by CNN revealed.

A biologist at University Hospital in France, Edwige Kasper, speaking during a presentation at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Milan on Saturday, May 24, 2025 that sperm from the male donor was used to conceive at least 67 children from 46 families born between 2008 and 2015, adding that 10 of the children have already been diagnosed with cancer.

According to her, “At the heart of the problem seems to lie the regulation, or maybe the lack of regulation, of the number of births by a single donor.”

Reports say analysis done so far showed that the donor is healthy but that he had a rare mutation in a gene named TP53. TP53 is likely to cause Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare disorder medical experts say increases a person’s risk of developing cancer.

Kasper noted in her presentation that the mutation was not known when the sperm donation was made.

She said children born from this donor have been identified in eight different European countries namely Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Greece, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

She added that 10 of the children have been diagnosed with cancers such as brain tumors and Hodgkin lymphoma.

According to her, 13 other children are carrying the rare genetic mutation but have not yet been diagnosed with cancer.

She says those 13 children will require medical examinations due to their increases risk of developing cancer, noting that they have a 50% chance of transmitting it on to their own children.

She noted in a press release later on Monday, May 26, 2025 that “The follow-up protocol involves whole-body MRI scans, MRI scans of the brain and, for adults, of the breast, ultrasound examination of the abdomen, and a clinical examination by a specialist. This is heavy and stressful for carries, but we have seen its effectiveness in that it has enabled early detection of tumors and thus improved patients’ chances of survival.”