A donor with a cancer-causing gene mutation has fathered 197 children in Europe

A donor carrying a dangerous cancer-causing gene mutation has fathered at least 197 children in Europe, some of whom have already died from cancer. This was announced on December 10 by the Daily Mail newspaper.

The mutation affected the TP53 gene, which plays a key role in suppressing cancer development. Children who inherit it have a condition known as Lee-Fraumeni syndrome, one of the most severe hereditary predispositions to cancer. The risk of developing cancer during their lifetime in such children reaches 90%.

"It's a terrible diagnosis. This is a very difficult diagnosis for the family, it's a lifelong burden of living with this risk, it's obviously devastating," said geneticist Professor Claire Turnbull from the Institute of Cancer Research in London.

According to the publication, the mutation was identified after doctors treating children with cancer related to donation raised the alarm at the congress of the European Society of Human Genetics. Initially, 23 children with the mutation were identified out of 67 examined in 46 families in eight European countries. Ten of them had already been diagnosed with cancer.

The investigation revealed that the donor's material was used by 67 clinics in 14 countries. Although it was not sold directly to the UK, a small number of British families took advantage of it while undergoing treatment in Denmark. All affected families have been notified.

Experts point out that there are no uniform international restrictions on the use of material from a single donor, which has led to its abnormally widespread distribution. In some countries, such as Belgium, where no more than six families per donor are allowed, 53 children were born from one man in 38 families.

On December 8, Medical Xpress magazine, citing the US federal health authorities, reported that a rare case of rabies related to organ transplantation led to two deaths. In October 2024, a man in Idaho contracted rabies after a raccoon scratched his leg. Five weeks later, he developed serious symptoms. He lost consciousness and died in the hospital. The man's internal organs, including his left kidney, were donated to a patient in Michigan. About five weeks after the transplant, the kidney recipient began to experience tremors, weakness, confusion, and urinary incontinence. He died in the hospital a week later.

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