Need for a European limit on the number of children per sperm or egg donor

Question for written answer E-000557/2026
to the Commission
Rule 144
Liesbet Sommen (PPE)

Recent journalistic research has exposed serious shortcomings in existing European legislation on cross-border donation of reproductive material, showing that no fewer than 197 children were conceived from the same donor in different EU Member States.

In recent years, the use of gametes in assisted reproduction has seen a significant rise all over Europe. As a consequence, cross-border use of sperm and egg donation has also increased. Member States have regulated such use, also by setting a national maximum number of children per donor. To increase cross-border control and transparency, the recently revised EU rules on Substances of Human Origin oblige sperm banks to keep donor registries to monitor compliance with national donor limits. However, a limit at EU level is still missing. This not only leads to concerns about transmission of hereditary diseases and the risk of consanguinity, but it also raises psychosocial questions regarding the number of half-siblings a person might have.

Therefore:

• 1.Does the Commission agree with experts' call to introduce a limit on the number of children per donor?
• 2.Is the Commission working on a targeted revision of the standards of quality and safety for substances of human origin regulation to introduce such a limit?

Submitted: 10.2.2026