A Belgian fertility specialist allegedly used sperm to conceive at least two children without the donor's authorisation, according to a report in De Standaard confirmed to Belga by non-profit organisation Donorkinderen on Friday.
The case – which is the first of its kind in Belgium – came to light when a 45-year-old man from Limburg began searching for his biological parentage after learning that his parents had used a sperm donor.
Using an international DNA database, the man eventually connected with his half-brother from Luxembourg and his 71-year-old biological father from Liège – both of whom were previously unaware of the artificial inseminations.
Pieces of the puzzle fell into place after the Limburg man revealed to his father the name of the doctor who had assisted his mother to conceive. As part of a study into male fertility in the 1970s, the father from Liège had donated weekly sperm samples to the doctor from 1974 to 1979 for "scientific purposes" whilst studying at university in Brussels.
Donorkinderen underscored that the donor "never authorised the use of his sperm" for anything other than research. "I was in shock when I received an email from a donor child. I was deceived," he told De Standaard.
"That doctor was downright unfair to me. I feel cheated. I hope today's IVF laboratories act more correctly. We as citizens now have the right to our own image, it seems obvious to me that we also have the right to our own genes."
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The doctor, who died in 2016, worked at UZ Brussel and Brugmann Hospital, as well as running his own private practice. He had also been a professor of obstetrics at the VUB since 1973, where he encouraged his students to donate sperm.
This is the first time that such a case has come to light in Belgium. Donorkinderen is demanding a full-scale investigation with the collaboration of the Health Ministry, Justice Ministry, the VUB, university hospital UZ Brussel, the FAMHP and the Order of Doctors.
The 45-year-old's main aim with his testimony is to create awareness among the wider population. "There are many more people in my generation who don't know they were conceived with donor sperm. I would say: if you think you don't look like your family, go for a DNA test. We are the children who were conceived in private practices."
Removing anonymity
The 45-year-old also strongly advocates removing anonymity for donors in Belgium: "As in the Netherlands and other countries, our country also needs to lift donor anonymity. Not retroactively, that's impossible. But for future donor children."
He is not alone in his plea for the abolition of donor anonymity. The Children's Rights Commission has been demanding it for some time, as has the Descendants' Centre.
"There are no good arguments for it anymore, not even practically: you really can't guarantee confidentiality today," noted Ankie Vandekerckhove of the Descendants' Centre. "People find each other anyway. Openness would take the pressure off."
