Danish cancer society demands urgent review after sperm donor scandal

A leading Danish patient organisation has called for an immediate overhaul of fertility clinic regulations after revelations that families using sperm from a donor carrying a high-risk cancer gene were not notified for years, DR reports.

The donor, identified only as “Kjeld” (donor number 7069), was found to carry a cancer-linked genetic mutation 2.5 years ago, placing over 200 children conceived with his sperm at elevated risk. Clinics were required to alert affected families without delay, but many received no warning until two years later.

Pernille Slebsager, patient support director at the Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse), described the failure as “profoundly, profoundly alarming.”

“It simply must never happen,” Slebsager said. “There is a potential risk that some may have developed cancer over those two years without anyone knowing.”

Six Danish children fathered by the donor have still not undergone genetic counselling. Authorities have now launched a renewed effort to locate their families.

Slebsager criticised the reliance on email notifications for such critical information, noting that addresses change and messages may be filtered as spam. “There must be follow-up to confirm these emails are received,” she said.

The acting health minister, Sophie Løhde (Venstre), called the case “serious” and pledged to tighten oversight. “This underscores the need to strengthen regulations, including at the EU level,” Løhde said in a written statement. A review by the Danish Patient Safety Authority, ordered in December, remains ongoing.