Donor Conception and Genetic Disease: Lessons to Be Learned from Donor 7069

This episode of the Progress Educational Trust (PET) podcast examines the case of a donor whose sperm was used to conceive at least 197 children in at least 14 countries, when he (unknowingly) carried a genetic mutation that causes cancer.

The discussion is chaired by Sarah Norcross (Director of PET), with contributions from:

⚫ Professor Allan Pacey (Professor of Andrology at the University of Manchester)

⚫ Dr Edwige Kasper (Cancer Geneticist at Rouen University Hospital, first brought the case of donor 7069 to professional and public attention)

⚫ Allan Toft Jacobsen (Chief Operating Officer at the European Sperm Bank)

⚫ Nanna Humle (Head of Quality at Born Donor Bank)

⚫ Rachel Cutting (Director of Compliance and Information at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)

⚫ Professor Lucy Frith (Professor of Bioethics and Health Research at the University of Manchester, and Principal Investigator at the ConnecteDNA project)

⚫ Nina Barnsley (Director of the Donor Conception Network, and contributor to information leaflets produced as part of the ConnecteDNA project)

The case of Donor 7069 involves a cancer-causing mutation that is present in some, but not all, of the cells of the donor's body. When this happens, it means that a mutation may not be detectable via standard tests, of the sort that are usually used to check people's suitability to be donors of sperm or eggs.

Some of the children who were conceived from this donor's sperm are already known to have developed cancer. Some of these children have died.

The case raises many issues, including:

⚫ How donors of sperm and eggs are (and should be) tested.

⚫ What steps should be taken, if an incident such as this is discovered, and who should be held responsible for taking these steps.

⚫ What limits are (and should be) placed, nationally and internationally, on the number of children that can be conceived from the sperm of a single donor.

In this podcast, experts and practitioners – including the cancer geneticist who first brought the case of donor 7069 to professional and public attention – explore the questions above, discussing how such cases should be dealt with once they come to light and how to reduce the risk of them occurring in the first place.

PET is grateful to the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists, the British Fertility Society, CooperSurgical and Theramex for supporting this discussion.

PET is also grateful to Jon Nicoll, who created the opening and closing music for its podcast.

Register at https://www.progress.org.uk/events/upcoming-events/ for upcoming PET events.