A creepy case has shocked the medical community: sperm from a donor with rare, carcinogenic genetic mutation used To arrest 67 children in eight European countries. Ten of these children have already been diagnosed with cancer.

The mutation, in the TP53 gene, is associated with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, one of the most dangerous hereditary predispositions for cancer. The variant was not known during the donation in 2008 and could not be detected with the control standards at the time.

The case came to light when two families identified similarities in their children’s cancers and addressed the fertility clinics. Since then, 67 children from 46 families have been identified, 23 of whom carry the mutation.

Experts are urgently demanding International limits on the use of a donor sperm per number of families to avoid similar incidents. Although the European Sperm Bank has already set a voluntary threshold of 75 families per donor, the absence of uniform international rules remains a serious security gap.