Dutch fertility clinics are violating sperm donor regulations

Dutch fertility clinics have been found to be violating safety regulations regarding sperm donors.

Key Takeaways:

• After multiple scandals, the Netherlands put stricter regulations in place to govern sperm donors.

• A law bans donors from fathering more than 25 children across 12 families.

• There are also regulations regarding the age of sperm donors.

• Fertility clinics have repeatedly been caught flouting these regulations, putting countless children at risk.

The Details:

A new report found that Dutch fertility clinics were allowing men to continue donating sperm even when they are too old to legally do so or have surpassed the maximum number of offspring allowed per donor. Furthermore, these errors were not a mere oversight; the clinics knew they were breaking the law and did so anyway.

Making matters worse, the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate — the government watchdog tasked with overseeing health care — also knew and did nothing.

The Medisch Centrum Kinderwens (MCK) is one of the largest fertility clinics in the Netherlands, and between 2006 and 2017, used sperm from 36 donors even though those donors had already fathered more than the legal limit allowed, affecting over 1,200 children and over 900 mothers. Additionally, the clinic allowed men over the age of 45 to donate, and the sperm was shipped for use out of the country against the donors' wishes. Some of the donors were over 50 years old.

“If I had known that the donor was over twice my age at the time, I would never have said yes,” one anonymous mother said. She felt "cheated" by the clinic. Another donor was aghast to find out that his sperm was used overseas against his wishes; he has 25 known children in the Netherlands and 25 known children abroad.

The Donor Child Foundation said in a statement that it was disturbed to find out the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate had known about these violations for six months and did not take action.

Zoom Out:

There have been multiple controversies regarding the fertility industry in the Netherlands, and the scandals show no signs of abating.

The Leiden University Medical Centre’s (LUMC) sperm bank, now closed, was found to have disturbing data upon investigation. Nearly half of all children fathered through the clinic had at least 25 siblings, and many had no father listed at all.

“The results of the research so far show that of the 1173 descendants, 440 descendants have more than 25 half-brothers/sisters. But it has also become clear that there is a lot we do not yet know or cannot find out. For example, it is not possible to determine from which donor the donor sperm was used for 102 descendants,” LUMC admitted in a statement, adding, “The people involved feel cheated.” It could mean that 102 people have no idea who their biological father is or their close-in-age biological half-siblings.

Nico Kuyt was a sperm donor in his 30s; he is one of the donors whose sperm was shipped overseas against his wishes. He thought he would be aiding scientific and medical research and helping a small handful of infertile couples to have children. He was horrified to find out he has at least 50 children, and suspects there are more.

“It is theft of something very intimate,” he said. “It is playing with life. That is absolutely forbidden. You must respect life at all costs.”

The Bottom Line:

The underregulated fertility industry is causing widespread harm to the children it creates. Many donor-conceived children have said they feel they have been “mass produced” or betrayed. A Harvard Medical School study also revealed that nearly half of donor-conceived children have said it is unethical, and they sought out psychological or psychiatric care after learning how they were conceived.