A woman three weeks from her due date says she cannot find out whether the sperm used to conceive her daughter came from a donor used by too many families. DR reports that the Danish Patient Safety Authority cannot confirm whether it checked European Sperm Bank’s compliance with the legal limit.
Tine Bjerre Elisiussen, 30, lives in Odense with her wife and is expecting the couple’s first child in early October. She told DR that the news about the sperm bank and the supervision of it is unpleasant. What matters most to her family, she said, is having children in a safe and secure way.
The couple conceived through IVF treatment at Odense University Hospital. According to Elisiussen, it was decided in advance that the straws would come from European Sperm Bank. The Danish Patient Safety Authority has been responsible for supervising the sperm bank since 2016.
Doubts about official inspections
The authority told DR that it can neither confirm nor deny whether it carried out random checks on whether the sperm bank sold sperm from a single donor to more than 12 women. Several experts interviewed by DR described that uncertainty as a huge problem and very serious.
The same DR report states that the breaches of donor limits affect around 10,000 people in Denmark. That figure covers the women treated with sperm from donors who exceeded the limits, together with their donor-conceived children.
The criticism follows DR’s reporting last week that the sperm bank has been reported to the police. According to that investigation, the company sold sperm from 81 donors to more Danish families than allowed since 2013. For some donors, sperm was used to impregnate up to 30 Danish women.
European Sperm Bank’s director told DR that the company has not received or seen the police complaint. As reported by DR, the company says it now has robust and secure control mechanisms. It also says only one overshoot of the family limit has been registered for donors recruited since 2020 and used in Denmark.
Since the first reports, Elisiussen and her wife have tried to learn whether they are directly affected. They have not been able to get an answer. She told DR she does not expect to find out, but will keep trying.
If their donor was used for more than the permitted 12 pregnancies, she said, difficult conversations lie ahead. As parents, she said, they already think about whether their daughter may one day have to consider if a partner is genetically related to her.
Elisiussen said she does not regret using European Sperm Bank and is looking forward to meeting her daughter. DR presented the experts’ criticism to the Danish Patient Safety Authority. The authority declined an interview and did not respond in writing.
