Belgium has been embroiled in a controversy following revelations that a Danish sperm donor carrying a harmful genetic mutation fathered 52 offspring with 37 distinct Belgian women from 2007 to 2018.
The genetic alteration referred to as TP53 leads to a considerably higher likelihood of developing cancer.
In Belgium, they have what’s known as the “six-woman rule,” which sets a legal cap at six families for each sperm donor. Nevertheless, this rule was seldom enforced in reality due to the anonymous nature of these donations.
Consequently, fertility centers had no way of knowing whether they had used the same donor multiple times.
The Belgian government has opted to amend the current legislation by eliminating the clause that ensures anonymity, as reflected in their coalition agreement.
“Everyone needs to pitch in now to focus on these documents, and with this recent development, it has grown even more crucial to achieve this,” said Billy Buyse, a representative for Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, to Euronews.
“Thus, this will surely be implemented during the current administration,” Buyse stressed.
Resistance from industry
Frieda Gijbels, an MP representing the right-wing N-VA party, proposed a bill aimed at eliminating anonymity several months back. Nonetheless, according to reports from local media outlets, the industry has shown resistance to this idea.
This is closely related to the six-woman policy and its implementation. Over just the past three years, 22 instances of non-compliance with this rule have been noted.
Valerie Van Peel, the N-VA party leader who oversaw the committee in the past two legislative terms, mentioned facing pressure from certain fertility specialists against taking action.
Of course, there are physicians who have engaged in misconduct themselves,” Gijbels stated. “They do not appreciate having the lids taken off their jars.
The suggestion to remove donor anonymity has likewise raised worries that potential contributors might be discouraged.
Gijbels countered this notion by citing international instances that contradict such beliefs. She referred specifically to France, where in 2022 it was established that records would be kept containing the identities of individuals who donate sperm, eggs, and embryos.
“Gijbels mentioned that in France, they removed anonymity, and surprisingly, the number of donors has gone up,” he stated.
Withheld information
At the end of May, Vandenbroucke’s cabinet learned about the full scale of the scandal related to the Danish donor.
Nevertheless, the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG), which oversees quality checks and donation issues, was notified of these matters at an earlier stage.
In November 2023, the organization was informed through a quick European alert regarding the Danish sperm donor who possessed a genetic mutation associated with an elevated risk of cancer.
Several impacted mothers received notifications from the fertility centers in the subsequent months. This information was later confirmed to the FAGG.
“We were puzzled that the FAGG failed to inform us right away. They didn’t alert us about the emergence of a medical risk, and we were also kept in the dark regarding the significant number of casualties,” Vandenbroucke said to local press.
Earlier this week, it came to light that 67 children across Europe were allegedly conceived with this sperm, in 46 families, and that 52 children in Belgium were affected. So far, at least 10 children have been diagnosed with cancer. Meanwhile, 23 were diagnosed with the gene mutation, making them more vulnerable to developing a wide range of cancers.
A review of the FAGG will concentrate on internal quality procedures, enforcement actions, and inspections along with external communications. Initial findings are anticipated following the summertime period.
Vandenbroucke additionally requested the FAGG to verify with the involved families if their child had received genetic testing in the interim, considering they hadn’t been monitoring the families since initially notifying them about the problem related to the donor.
Ultimately, Vandenbroucke has advocated for enhancing the framework at the European level, as “each country employs varying quotas, and there is uncertainty regarding the actual frequency of usage of imported donor sperm.”
