North Cyprus

Report: 30 Kids Born With Wrong Donors at Cyprus IVF Clinics

Are Northern Cyprus clinics rife with systemic fraud or are bad actors tarnishing the wider industry?

AUG 18·Updated AUG 19

Report: 30 Kids Born With Wrong Donors at Cyprus IVF Clinics

Story

Above: Stock photo of a father holding his newborn baby. Image credit: Unsplash

The Facts

At least 30 children, most of them British, are feared to have been conceived at fertility clinics in northern Cyprus using sperm or egg donors different from those selected by their parents, according to a BBC investigation that first uncovered seven cases earlier this year.
Daily Mail
BBC News
Half of the 30 children were linked to the Dogus IVF Centre in Nicosia. Eleven of the children underwent commercial DNA tests, with results indicating genetic ancestry from Turkey or surrounding countries, despite their parents having selected donors from Western Europe.
Nos
KNEWS
Three people — Dr. Firdevs Uguz Tip, Dr. Sevket Alpturk and patient co-ordinator Julie Hodson — were involved in the care of many patients at Dogus. Firdevs denied wrongdoing, while Alpturk and Hodson did not respond to questions from the BBC.
Proto Thema
Firstpost
Cryos International, described as the world's largest sperm bank, told the BBC it had no record of ever delivering sperm to Dogus and revealed it had blacklisted the clinic since 2016. Cryos has also suspended cooperation with Dr. Firdevs and her current clinic, Miracle IVF.
Agenzia Italia
BBC News
One British mother, Rachel, selected a Danish sperm donor through Cryos while undergoing treatment at Dogus in 2012 at a cost of around €4,000 ($4,631). DNA tests later indicated her 13-year-old son Jonah was her biological child but that the donor she selected was not his biological father.
KNEWS
Daily Mail
Some experts said that accidental wrong donors are extremely rare, with the British Fertility Society calling it a "systemic problem" beyond one clinic or doctor. The U.K. Foreign Office now advises that fertility treatment in northern Cyprus "carry risks" due to limited regulation.
Agenzia Italia
Firstpost

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

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CRIT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

These clinics ran a years-long deception on British families, substituting carefully chosen donors with unvetted alternatives and then stonewalling parents who raised concerns. Despite the world's largest sperm bank blacklisting Dogus after finding no record of ever delivering sperm there, the clinic still advertised that partnership as a selling point. This is a systemic problem of negligence and outright fraud.

BBC News

Daily Mail

Narrative B

Lumping every North Cyprus clinic together because of allegations tied to specific providers and a specific doctor is a damaging overreaction. Reputable clinics there are legally required to source donor sperm from accredited banks, use unique sample codes and electronic witnessing systems, and submit to ministry oversight. Patients should judge each clinic on its actual safeguards, not a headline.