30 Kids, Wrong Donors: Inside The IVF Clinic Scandal Rocking UK Families

At least 30 children, most of them British, may have been conceived using sperm or eggs from donors different from those selected by their parents at fertility clinics in northern Cyprus, a BBC investigation has found.

The parents said they had selected anonymous donors based on information including medical history, appearance, personality and education. Some later questioned whether those donors had actually been used, with commercial DNA tests appearing to support their concerns in several cases, the BBC reported. Half of the 30 cases identified in the latest investigation are linked to Dogus IVF Centre in northern Nicosia.

The latest findings build on a BBC investigation earlier this year that identified seven children whose parents suspected the wrong donors had been used. The allegations have renewed questions about donor selection, record-keeping and oversight at fertility clinics in northern Cyprus.

The findings do not establish that the clinics deliberately substituted donor material.

DNA tests raise questions over donor identities

One of the families featured in the BBC investigation is Rachel and her son Jonah. Rachel underwent IVF treatment at Dogus in 2012 after selecting an anonymous Danish sperm donor.

She selected the donor after reviewing information about his background and medical history and said she understood that the clinic would use his sperm.

DNA testing later indicated that Jonah was not biologically related to the Danish donor Rachel had selected, according to the BBC.

Rachel then contacted Cryos International, the Danish sperm bank whose donor she had selected. Cryos told the BBC that it had no record of supplying sperm to Dogus for her treatment.

Cryos told the BBC that it had blacklisted Dogus in 2016 after concerns over a case in which a patient was told that sperm had been ordered from the company, while its records showed no such order.

Rachel told the BBC that the discovery made her question the information she had been given before treatment.

The BBC reported that 11 of the 30 children identified in its latest investigation have undergone commercial DNA testing. Most of those children were conceived through treatment at Dogus between 2012 and 2024.

Three people linked to several of the cases

The investigation identified three people who were involved in the care of several patients at Dogus: doctors Firdevs Uguz Tip and Sevket Alpturk, and patient co-ordinator Julie Hodson.

Uguz Tip denied wrongdoing, according to the BBC. She said she was not responsible for ordering sperm at Dogus and disputed some of the families' accounts.

Alpturk and Hodson did not respond to the BBC's questions.

The BBC also identified families who raised concerns over egg donors. They said they had selected particular donors after being shown profiles containing information about their appearance, background and medical history, but later questioned whether those women had provided the eggs used in their treatment.

Uguz Tip disputed the families' understanding of the process. She told the BBC that egg donors at Miracle IVF were selected by the clinic and that donor profiles did not represent a guarantee that a particular woman would be used. She said this was explained in consent forms and communicated to patients.

The British Fertility Society told the BBC that the number of reported cases was concerning. Fertility experts said repeated donor discrepancies could point to negligence or deception, although the investigation has not established who was responsible.

Donor identity can also have implications for children's medical histories and their ability to learn about their biological origins and genetic relatives, the BBC reported.

Regulation comes under scrutiny

Northern Cyprus has become a destination for British patients seeking fertility treatment abroad, with clinics offering IVF and donor treatments under rules that differ from those in the UK, the BBC reported.

The territory has its own fertility legislation and its Ministry of Health oversees clinics. Unlike the UK, it does not have an independent fertility regulator equivalent to Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the BBC reported.

Following the BBC's earlier investigation, the northern Cyprus Ministry of Health launched an inquiry into the allegations. The ministry said the cases had been taken seriously and that it would examine whether clinics had breached local laws and regulations.

The latest findings have expanded the number of families raising concerns over whether the donor information they received accurately reflected the treatment they underwent.