L’UE può stabilire regole comuni per limitare le donazioni di sperma e ovuli?
Le nascite concepite tramite donazione di sperma sono in aumento in Europa, ma le recenti controversie legate ai cosiddetti “super donatori” hanno spinto diversi Paesi dell’UE a chiedere una regolamentazione chiara e limiti internazionali alle donazioni di sperma e ovuli.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2025/07/15/lue-puo-stabilire-regole-comuni-per-limitare-le-donazioni-di-sperma-e-ovuli
00:00Donor-conceived births are on the rise in Europe and it's a cross-border business.
00:19Experts say it's because people want children when they're older, without a partner and in same-sex couples.
00:26But recent controversies surrounding so-called super-donors have led some EU countries to call for common rules.
00:34We look at the medical and ethical challenges in this episode of EU Decoded.
00:39Each EU country sets a maximum number of children born from a single donor.
00:45This can range from 1 in Cyprus to 15 in Germany.
00:50Some member states prefer to limit the number of families that can use the same donor.
00:55Sweden and Belgium limit this to 6, but Denmark allows up to 12 families.
01:02There is no limit for international donations, however.
01:05There are commercial cryobanks that set voluntary limits, but as many as 75 children have been conceived by the same donor.
01:12These super-donors increase the risk of unwitting incest and the spread of genetic abnormalities.
01:20There is also concern about the psychological harm to children who could find out later in life that they have dozens of half-siblings.
01:29We asked Europeans if they shared these concerns.
01:32But it's good if you know who the person is.
01:36Because you don't know what the other person brings with character, mental things and things like that.
01:41For me, this is an ethical question.
01:43What do people do with their herbivores?
01:46Actually, they should leave their life.
01:48I think they should leave their life.
01:50And so I think that this is a science of medicine, but it's nothing that I want to say.
02:02I think that, like all of the important aspects, it should be regulated in the best way possible, in a clear way.
02:09I think that it should be more regulated and that there is more information, especially in schools, since in Italy there is no point of talking about it.
02:19Euronews' reporter Amandine Hess is here with me now to help us delve deeper into this issue.
02:25Amandine, we've had reports recently of some very controversial cases of sperm donors, particularly in Europe.
02:33Tell us more about some of these cases.
02:34Well, a few weeks ago it has been reported that a Danish donor who was unknowingly carrying a rare genetic mutation that increases the risk of cancer
02:43had helped conceive at least 67 children in Europe and 10 of them have been diagnosed with cancer.
02:50And then there is the issue of super donors who help conceive dozens or even hundreds of children.
02:56And it raises concerns because it increases the risk of consanguineous relationships among donor-conceived individuals.
03:03And finally, 50% of egg donation treatments take place in Spain because it has more liberal assisted reproduction laws.
03:12So patients travel there for treatments, but there are some questions on the ethical implication of commercialized egg donation.
03:20There's also the question of anonymity of these donors.
03:23Tell us what the situation is on that across the European Union and what are some of the ethical questions that arise from this?
03:30For instance, sperm donation is anonymous in Italy, but it's not the case in the Netherlands.
03:35And in some countries such as Austria, it's semi-anonymous, which means that sperm donation is anonymous only between the donor and the recipients.
03:43Now, because of DNA testing and social media, donors' anonymity can no longer be 100% guaranteed.
03:52So it's more and more common that children can get in touch with their half-siblings or their donor and can be challenging for them, but also for their families.
04:02Finally, we know that there's increasing concern among many EU countries and that they're trying to propose solutions to this.
04:10What are some of the options on the table right now?
04:12Some member states limit the number of children per donor.
04:17Others prefer to limit the number of families per donor to allow them to have biological siblings, but there is no international limitations.
04:26So some commercialized sperm banks have their own voluntary limits, such as 75 families per donor, but others have not.
04:34So it's not uncommon that some children have more than a hundred half-siblings, so this is the kind of situation that this proposal would prevent.
04:43The human body and its parts cannot generate financial profit, according to the Orbeido Convention.
04:49Commercial cryobanks earn revenues based on services related to the handling, freezing and storage of sperm and eggs, as well as through tests to screen potential donors.
05:00Some companies have online catalogs that disclose basic donor details, such as ethnicity, eye and hair color, height, weight, and occupation.
05:11Clients can pay a higher fee to access more complete profiles.
05:15Nuestra invitada es Elena Nevado del Campo, eurodiputada del Partido Popular Europeo y miembro de la Comisión de Salud Pública.
05:24¿Hasta qué punto pueden las instituciones de la Unión Europea establecer un cupo para estas donaciones, dado que la salud es, ante todo, una cuestión de jurisdicción nacional?
05:35Tenemos un reglamento que se aprobó recientemente en el 2024 sobre normas de calidad y seguridad de sustancias de origen humano destinadas a la aplicación precisamente en el ser humano.
05:51Y ese reglamento, que es de obligado cumplimiento para todos los Estados miembros, también recoge la donación y el esperma y los ovocitos para la reproducción humana.
06:03Por lo tanto, yo sí que creo que podemos establecer un marco más global con la prudencia que la propia Comisión Europea, a través de doña Sandra Galina, ha señalado.
06:15¿Ve usted útil la creación de registros nacionales que contribuyan luego a un registro central europeo para donaciones transfronterizas?
06:25Muchas leyes a nivel nacional ya prevén el establecimiento de estos registros, pero realmente muchos no se han puesto en marcha.
06:37Iría más allá. Casi que por una cuestión de ética deberían establecerse registros de carácter internacional, puesto que estas donaciones traspasan las fronteras también de la propia Unión Europea.
06:52Las empresas que recolectan y comercializan esperma y óvulos afirman que faltan donantes. ¿Cuál podría ser el impacto de establecer nuevos límites?
07:02Estamos hablando de la protección de la infancia y el derecho a saber si a través de estas respuestas, dada la baja natalidad que azota también a Europa, puede dar lugar a transmisión de algún tipo de enfermedades.
07:19Por lo tanto, frente a esta actitud de los bancos, tenemos que ir más allá y pensar que hay que establecer esas medidas de calidad y de seguridad para proteger la salud humana y la infancia.
07:34El negocio de los bancos, probablemente continuará a avanzar, pero las preocupaciones médicas y éticas significan que nuevas reglas son necesarias y rápidas, pero no es tan claro lo que puede hacer.
07:46Por lo tanto, ocho países están llamando a Brussels a considerar una capa en el número de niños que puede ser concebida de un donor.
