31/05/2025
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19XVgYTiPm/?mibextid=wwXIfr
🧬 A s***m donor passed on a rare cancer gene to dozens of children. Now, 10 have developed cancer.
Experts are demanding global reform.
A troubling case in Europe has sparked a global conversation about s***m donation ethics and oversight. A s***m donor unknowingly carrying a rare mutation in the TP53 gene—a key cancer-suppressing gene—fathered at least 67 children across eight European countries between 2008 and 2015. The mutation, later linked to Li-Fraumeni syndrome, is a severe inherited condition that drastically increases cancer risk. So far, 23 of the children have been found to carry the mutation, and 10 have developed cancers, including leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
At the time of donation, the variant was not known to be harmful and wasn’t detectable with existing screening methods. The donor himself remains healthy, but experts now warn that this tragedy exposes a critical flaw in assisted reproduction practices: a lack of consistent international standards. Critics, including biologist Dr. Edwige Kasper, are calling for stricter genetic screening and global donor limits to prevent similar cases. The incident underscores how unregulated s***m donation can lead to devastating, multi-country consequences for families and children.
learn more https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/23/s***m-donor-cancer-risk-children-europe
