ESHRE calls for Europe-wide limit of 50 families per sperm donor to prevent 600+ sibling cases

At a European fertility conference, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology called on sperm and egg banks and clinics to respect an initial limit of 50 families per donor, with a long-term goal of moving toward 15 families. The push follows cases like Dutch donor Jonathan Meijer, whose sperm was used to conceive 550–600 children, leading to court-ordered cessation in 2023. While countries like the UK set national limits (e.g., 10 families), these are hard to enforce due to cross-border sperm exports—over half of UK sperm donations in 2020 were imported, mostly from Denmark or the US. Stichting Donorkind, chaired by donor-conceived man Ties van der Meer, has advocated for limits, citing children’s right to know biological origins. Other concerns include risks of accidental incest among donor offspring and potential genetic mutations passed to many children, as happened with a Danish donor whose sperm was used for at least 197 children, some of whom developed cancer. However, some experts note that even 15 families may be too high, and the right number remains unknown.