A sperm donor who unknowingly carried a rare, cancer-causing mutation has fathered nearly 200 children across Europe, according to a major investigation led by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), including 14 public service broadcasters.
The man appeared healthy, passed all routine screening, and donated sperm for around 17 years while he was a student. But up to 20 per cent of his sperm carried a mutation in the TP53 gene – a gene that normally prevents cells from becoming cancerous.
