A total of 52 children conceived using sperm from the same donor at Belgian fertility centres may carry a gene linked to certain cancers.
This information was disclosed on Friday by Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) and the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) during a joint press conference.
The FAMHP has been aware of this issue since 2023 but only informed the Health Minister earlier this week.
In November 2023, the Denmark-based European Sperm Bank issued a "rapid alert" to the FAMHP after identifying a donor carrying the TP53 gene. This hereditary mutation can lead to several forms of cancer.
14 Belgian centres received sperm from this donor. An investigation by the FAMHP found that 12 of these centres used it in treatments administered to 37 women.
Between 2008 and 2017, 52 children were conceived in Belgium using this donor's sperm. All may carry the cancer-associated gene, although the exact number of children who inherited the mutation is yet to be determined.
