Wrong sperm, wrong eggs: The IVF scandal unfolding in northern Cyprus

Seven British families were given the wrong sperm or egg donors during IVF treatment at clinics in northern Cyprus, a BBC News investigation has found. Fertility experts have described this as an "appalling" situation that could point to negligence or even deliberate deception.

Among the victims are Beth and Laura, a British couple who paid around £16,000 for IVF treatment at Dogus IVF Centre in northern Cyprus, believing their two children had been conceived using sperm from a carefully selected Danish donor known as "Finn." DNA tests have since confirmed the children are not biologically related to each other, meaning they were conceived from two entirely different, unidentified donors.

"We went from having this nice profile of donor Finn and feeling like we knew the family history and the health history, to just nothing," Beth told the BBC.

The couple had chosen Finn, who is a healthy and non-smoking Dane who said he wanted to "bring life and happiness to others". The couple believed that their children would have a sense of their biological identity growing up. Both children had grown up describing themselves as "half-Danish." The discovery left their parents "absolutely livid."

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Northern Cyprus has become one of the most popular destinations for British people seeking fertility treatment abroad. Clinics there operate with minimal independent oversight, offer low prices, high success rates and a wide range of anonymous donors. Unlike in Britain, there is no independent fertility regulator to monitor standards or revoke licences.

The cases centre on Dr Firdevs Uguz Tip, who treated patients at Dogus IVF Centre and later set up her own Miracle IVF Centre in 2019. Two further families treated at Miracle IVF believe they were given egg donors different from those they had selected. Firdevs has denied wrongdoing, saying all treatments complied with local legislation, the report said.

Leading forensic genetics expert Prof Denise Syndercombe Court, who reviewed the DNA evidence, said it was unlikely either of Beth and Laura's children was biologically related to donor Finn. Fertility specialists consulted by the BBC said such repeated errors involving the same medical team could indicate "negligence" or "deception."

"I've never heard of an incident like this in the UK," said Dr Ippokratis Sarris of the British Fertility Society. "It is the biggest fear of any IVF unit to mix up an egg or sperm or embryo."

Northern Cyprus's Ministry of Health has not responded to the BBC's findings.

For the families involved, the human cost runs deep. Beth and Laura's son James, still processing the revelation, put it simply: "Identity is the main thing. It's who you are as a person."