Health and Church Minister Ida Auken says several Danish sperm banks have been reported to the police, and she is promising tighter control of the fertility sector.
In an interview published September 11, DR reports that Ida Auken of the Social Democrats has confirmed more than one police report. She described conditions in the sector as close to the Wild West.
The day before, DR revealed that European Sperm Bank had been reported to the police by the Danish Patient Safety Authority, Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed. According to that reporting, the bank has sold sperm from 81 donors to more Danish women than the law allows since 2013.
Per DR, Auken said there have been large violations at some of the sperm banks. She stated that the area will now be examined thoroughly, and that this is why police reports have been filed. She added that she was surprised by how poorly the field was managed previously.
DR states that it tried without success to learn which other sperm banks have been reported, and on what grounds. The Health Ministry declined to provide further information.
The rules and the numbers
Under Danish rules, sperm from a single donor may be used for a maximum of twelve women in Denmark. DR reports that donors from European Sperm Bank have been used for up to 30 Danish women since 2013. A further 105 donors were used in breach of an earlier recommendation of 25 children per donor.
Ekstra Bladet has reported that one donor was used by 30 women and has at least 35 children. Auken said that while it is not always possible to guard against bad actors, the field is now being cleaned up.
The minister is awaiting the completion of a review of the entire fertility area by Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed. The review was launched in December 2025, after DR published several revelations about a donor from European Sperm Bank.
That donor unknowingly passed on a cancer gene to some of the roughly 200 children worldwide he fathered. Among them are 44 Danish children. Auken said the review will show whether legislation and supervision need to be tightened.
European Sperm Bank told DR that it has not been contacted by the police and knows of the police report only from the media. The bank wrote that it therefore has no basis to comment further on the matter.
The bank also said that systems across the fertility field historically were not robust enough, but that the situation has improved. It stated that for donors used in Denmark and recruited since 2020, it has registered one breach of the family limit.
