Sperm donor with cancer-causing gene passes on disease to 10 children
A sperm donor who has been used to conceive at least 67 children across Europe had a rare cancer -causing mutation, with 10 of the children developing the disease.
Twenty-three of the children, conceived between 2008 and 2015 across eight countries, have now been found to carry the variant, while some have been diagnosed with cancers such as leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The case has raised concerns about the lack of internationally agreed limits on the use of a single sperm donor, and the difficulty in tracing a large number of families to inform them of a serious medical issue.
The news was uncovered after two separate families contacted their fertility clinics becaues their children had developed cancers that were linked to a genetic variant called TP53.
An analysis by the European Sperm Bank, who supplied the sperm, confirmed that the variant was present but was not known to be linked to cancer at the time of donation in 2008.
Dr Edwige Kasper, a biologist at Rouen university hospital in France, said: 'We need to have a European limit on the number of births or families for a single donor.
'We can't do whole-genome sequencing for all sperm donors – I'm not arguing for that,' she added. 'But this is the abnormal dissemination of genetic disease. Not every man has 75 children across Europe.'
She continued: 'I analysed the variant using population and patient databases, computer prediction tools and the results of functional trials and came to the conclusion that the variant was probably cancer-causing and that children born from this donor should receive genetic counselling.'
Children who have been shown to have the gene are advised to have whole body and brain MRI scans. They are also recommend to have breast and abdomen ultrasounds as adults.
Julie Paulli Budtz, a spokesperson for the European Sperm Bank, told The Guardian: 'We are deeply affected by this case.' She said the donor had been thoroughly tested but that 'it is scientifically simply not possible to detect disease-causing mutations in a person's gene pool if you don't know what you are looking for'.
She added: 'We welcome continued dialogue on setting an internationally mandated family limit and have advocated for this on several occasions. This is also why we have proactively implemented our own international limit of 75 families per donor.'
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Di UK medicines regulator don warn women wey dey use weight loss injections say make dem find beta contraception use. Di Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) say e neva clear weda medicine like Wefgovy and Mounjaro fit affect belle. E also warn say dis injections wey you dey see so fit make di contraceptives to no work as e dey work for pipo wey dey overweight or obese. Fear dey say wit di way wey dis 'skinny jabs' dem dey trend, plenti women no dey use drugs safely or even get beta advice as to how dem go use am. Di thinking be say di side effects of dis medication wey be vomiting and diarrhoea and di fact say dem dey slow down di way belle dey take empty mean say di contraceptive medicine fit no enta bodi well. Di MHRA say women suppose use contraceptive togeda wit GLP-1 medicines and for a certain period afterwards before dem try to get belle - two months for Wegovy and Ozempic, and one month for Mounjaro. Dem also advice say pesin wey dey use Mounjaro and oral contraceptives get two options. Either dem go follow di contraception wit condoms for four weeks afta dem start di injection or else make dem change contraception go coil or implant. Advice for di use of contraception alreadi dey di leaflet wey dey follow di medicine but MHRA don issue dia own guidance join. Di drugs safety board say make pesin no take di weight-loss injections if: Dem suppose dey give women dis informate wen dem start to dey collect di injections, but worry dey say di warning no dey enta well. Natasha Major, 26, start to use Mounjaro to lose weight bifor she plan to born her third pikin in a few years. But e shock am as just six weeks later, she find out say, she don carry belle. She bin dey take contraceptive pill dat time. She tok say, "I get polycystic ovaries too, so I no dey quick-quick get belle like dat. So e even shock me pass say e easy to carry belle like dat, bicos e no make sense to me." She den start to dey worry about weda she go harm her pikin or weda di baby no go grow well. Natasha come follow her doctor tok for advice and na so dem tell am, make she stop di medicine. She say, "we don pass di first shock nand now dey very happy. Di last time wey I take di injection na just three hours bifor I find out say I don carry belle and I neva take am since dat time." Natasha add say, "I bin do early scan to make sure say di belle make sense and e dey okay, baby bin get small heartbeat and evritin dey good". Di MHRA and doctors and pharmacists dey worry say dem no dey use di popular GLP-1 medicine like Wegovy, Mounjaro, Saxenda, Victoza and Ozempic, safely. Dis prescription medicines dey licensed to treat obesity (and type 2 diabetes for Ozempic). E dey make pipo to feel full by acting as di hormone wey bodi dey release afta pesin don chop. Mounjaro dey also work wit anoda hormone wey dey linked to appetite and blood sugar control. Normally, na pipo wey get very high BMI, na im NHS dey give di drugs but pipo fit buy am for chemists. E don popular sotay dem don dey sell am illegally for social media and for beauty saons witout medical advice as sharp-sharp way to lose weight. Di MHRA dey advise pipo make dem follow di prescriber tok about di risks and benefits of taking dem, and understand di potential side-effects by talking to a doctor or pharmacist. E don act now because e don receive around 40 reports relating to pregnancy wey dem make to im Yellow Card scheme, wia di public fit report suspected side-effects of medicines. Some of dis be pregnancies wey hapun by mistake. Di chief safety officer for di MHRA, Dr Allison Cave tok say dem find evidence for animal studies say, "dis medicine dem fit harm unborn pikin. But we no know weda e go get di same effect for human beings, we need more data for dat one". 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