Health spokespeople from several Danish parties say the sperm bank European Sperm Bank should tell more than 10,000 affected women and children that their donor was used in too many families.
More than 10,000 women and children are affected by a case in which European Sperm Bank sold sperm from several donors in breach of Danish law and official recommendations. DR reports that health spokespeople from a number of parties now want the sperm bank to inform those families directly.
The sperm bank has so far rejected doing so, according to DR. Health Minister Ida Auken of the Social Democrats is not yet ready to demand it. The bank has not contacted the affected families.
81 donors used too many times
DR revealed on September 10 that European Sperm Bank has been reported to the police for selling sperm in breach of the law. Sperm from 81 donors was used to make an illegally high number of women pregnant. The report was filed by the Danish Patient Safety Authority, Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed, which supervises parts of Danish healthcare.
Since 2013, sperm from a single donor may make a maximum of 12 women pregnant in Denmark. A list from the sperm bank, seen by DR, shows that 81 donors were used by more than 12 women.
Before 2013 there was no legal cap, but the recommendation was a maximum of 25 children per donor. DR reports that 105 donors from before 2013 exceeded that number. In one case, a single donor’s sperm led to 110 children in Denmark.
Spokespeople demand openness
Jens Henrik Thulesen Dahl, health spokesperson for the Danmarksdemokraterne party, calls the case deeply criticizable. Per DR, he says affected families have a right to know, because the number of siblings could be far higher than assumed.
Jan Herskov, health spokesperson for the Danish People’s Party, says the donors should also be informed. Venstre’s health spokesperson Christoffer Aagaard Melson describes the new information as a major failure, adding that users must be able to trust that the rules are followed.
European Sperm Bank has told DR that it is not permitted to pass on the information, because it concerns private details about the donor. The Danish Data Protection Agency, Datatilsynet, told DR it has not yet decided whether that is correct. The spokespeople say the rules should be changed if they block disclosure.
Auken says she understands the families who feel caught up in uncertainty about how many siblings exist. She is waiting for a broader review of the fertility sector being prepared by the Danish Patient Safety Authority.
According to DR, the review was launched at the end of last year. It followed DR’s reporting that one European Sperm Bank donor is the origin of at least 200 donor children worldwide.
Auken says she will be able to answer what information the families can receive once the review is completed.
