Complete peace of mind for our patients: our own gamete bank avoids risks such as the European scandal involving a mass donor of semen carrying TP53, a hereditary disorder linked to cancer.
By not using external gamete banks, we can guarantee that none of our patients have received these semen samples.
An unprecedented medical scandal has rocked Europe: a single sperm donor, carrier of a genetic mutation that dramatically increases cancer risk, fathered 197 children over nearly two decades. The scandal originated with the detection of several cases of childhood cancer in 14 European countries, including Spain. Clinical analyses revealed that the children shared the same mutation in the TP53 gene, responsible for Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a hereditary disorder that carries a very high probability of developing different types of cancer throughout life.
In light of the alarm caused by the magnitude of the event, we would like to assure all our patients that:
At Instituto Bernabeu, we have our own gamete bank and do not use semen or egg samples from other banks. Therefore, we can guarantee that none of our patients have received semen from the donor featured in media headlines with a mutation in the TP53 gene, which is responsible for Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
Having our own bank of gamete donors (eggs and semen) is a great advantage and provides peace of mind for our recipient patients:
- We directly perform clinical analyses and exhaustive genetic studies on our donors, which affects the control and traceability of the entire process.
- This allows us to perform genetic matching (TCG) between donors and recipient patients on their entire exome: Genetic compatibility between them increases the probability of pregnancy and the birth of healthy children who are not affected by recessive diseases.
You should also be aware that, technically speaking, there is currently no test that can completely rule out the risk of passing on genetic diseases to offspring, although the technology we use at Instituto Bernabeu allows us to identify and avoid the 3,000 most common diseases in our donors. Furthermore, it is impossible to predict de novo mutations, i.e. genetic alterations that were not present in the parents and appear for the first time in the new child, or polygenic or multifactorial diseases, which are those caused by the interaction of multiple genes and environmental factors and cannot be detected with current genetic panels. It is also not possible to detect germline mosaicism, mutations that are only present in gametes.
In accordance with the guidelines of the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF) and current national legislation on gamete and embryo donation (Law 14/2006 on assisted human reproduction techniques), we transfer the detailed and confidential record of donations made and their traceability to the Ministry of Health (SIRHA registry). Strict compliance with this legislation, unlike other more lax European countries, means limiting births per donor to six, which prevents hypothetical future consanguinity between siblings and the widespread and uncontrolled use of their gametes.
To give you additional peace of mind regarding the rigorous implementation of our processes, we would also like to inform you that:
- Instituto Bernabeu has a Biovigilance Unit in contact with the National Donor Registry, which allows us to closely monitor the embryos generated, as well as the children born after assisted reproduction techniques, in order to minimise this type of situation.
- We also have a DNA Biobank that stores a DNA sample from the donor for 20 years in case it becomes necessary to know their genetic information in the future. Our patients have the peace of mind of knowing that they can request this genetic information at any time for the prevention and appropriate treatment of possible diseases that could affect their offspring in the future.
If you would like more specific information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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