European Sperm Bank has been reported to the police after sperm from at least 81 donors was used to impregnate more Danish women than the law allows.
DR revealed the scope of the case on September 10, 2026, based on a list the company itself sent to the Danish Patient Safety Authority, Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed. According to DR, the list covers 81 men who became donors from 2013 onward. The broadcaster obtained access to the documents sent to the authority.
European Sperm Bank, one of the world’s largest sperm banks, has its headquarters in Denmark. It was reported to the police last year by Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed over sales that allegedly breached Danish law. Under that law, sperm from one donor may be used to make a maximum of 12 women in Denmark pregnant.
Concern over hereditary disease
Lone Sunde, professor and specialist in clinical genetics at Aalborg University, told DR the number of cases is worrying. She explained that the ceiling exists partly to limit inbreeding and the spread of serious hereditary diseases. Donors are screened for several conditions, but not everything can be tested for, she noted.
Ekstra Bladet reports that one donor on the list led to pregnancies in 30 different Danish women, resulting in 35 children since 2013. Several donors exceeded the legal limit by more than double, per DR. The list counts only Danish children, and the company sells sperm to many other countries.
Health law expert Kent Kristensen from Aalborg University reviewed the list for DR. He said the cases do not look like isolated mistakes, but point toward a more systematic pattern. He added that responsibility for keeping within the legal limit rests with the sperm bank, whatever the reason for the overrun.
DR also reports that 105 donors from before 2013 were used for more children than was recommended at the time. Those cases did not break the law and are not part of the police case. European Sperm Bank has told the authority that its own figures may contain errors, since women can be registered incorrectly and reported pregnancies can later be lost.
Over the past year, DR has published several reports on the anonymous donor known as Kjeld, whose sperm was sold to at least 14 countries and led to more than 200 children. A hidden genetic defect was later found in some of his sperm cells. DR asked whether any of the 81 oversold donors have been blocked over hereditary disease risk, and received no answer.
The company declined a television interview. In a written response to DR, it said systems across the fertility field historically were not robust enough. It said that among donors used in Denmark and recruited since 2020, one breach of the family limit has been registered.
