IVF clinic in Northern Cyprus accused of using wrong donor material

An IVF clinic in Northern Cyprus has found itself at the center of a scandal after several families claimed their children were conceived using different donor material than what they had selected. This was reported by the BBC.

According to the investigation, families claim the clinic used different sperm donors, resulting in children who were not genetically linked to the donor the parents originally chose.

One of the mothers, Laura, said doubts arose almost immediately after the birth of her second child. She and her partner, Beth, underwent in vitro fertilization at the Dogus IVF Center about 15 years ago.

The couple claims they chose a donor named Finn—an athletic non-smoking man from Denmark. The clinic reportedly collaborated with Cryos International, the world's largest donor material bank.

However, a later DNA test revealed that:

• the children were not conceived from the selected donor,
• and they have different biological fathers.

Following the investigation, journalists identified two more similar cases. In both families, doubts about the origin of the donor material also arose and were confirmed by DNA tests.

Clinic doctor Firdevs Uguz Tip rejected the accusations, stating she was not responsible for ordering donor sperm and had not received information about the chosen donor.

Cryos representatives stated that such errors are extremely rare due to strict safety procedures and that no such cases have been recorded in the company's 45-year history.

Reproductive medicine specialists interviewed by the BBC noted that such an error is unlikely, especially if it occurred more than once, which could indicate possible negligence by medical personnel.

The cost of treatment for one of the families was approximately £16,000, of which £2,000 was paid for the selected donor's sperm.

Some families also claimed they were provided with eggs from donors other than those they had selected.