For the first time in France, doctors have been accused of “fertility fraud”. An association which links donor-conceived children with parents, PMAnonyme, notified authorities that during the 1970s and 1980s three French gynecologists used their own sperm to inseminate their patients.

PMAnonyme believes that this is just the beginning of a larger scandal.

It appears that two of the three doctors have died.

Until 1992, the use of a doctor’s own sperm would not necessarily have been illegal in France. It’s not clear how many children are involved, but Blandine, the vice-president of PMAnonyme, believes that she has found seven biological half-sisters and half-brothers in her town, all from the same medical practice.

In 2019 a particularly bizarre case emerged after 34-year-old Nelly discovered that she was donor-conceived. She investigated further and discovered 23 relatives. It turned out that three generations of men — a grandfather, a father, and a son — made sperm donations to the same medical practice over about 20 years.