BBC probe: Dozens of British families misled over IVF donors at occupied north clinics

Local britainchildrenhealthnorth cyprusTop NewsTurkish Cypriots BBC probe: Dozens of British families misled over IVF donors at occupied north clinics 6eb43020 9180 11f1 B8ee 9b3c26ad07bb.jpg Relevant News Indonesia marks its 81st Independence Day 18 August 2026 On this day: Pope John Paul II announced that the new millennium was threatened by an onslaught of evil in 2002 18 August 2026 Nicosia DLGO awaits €2 million fund to tackle dangerous buildings 18 August 2026 newsroom 18 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber At least 30 children, most of them British, are feared to have been conceived using the wrong sperm or egg donors at fertility clinics operating in the occupied north of Cyprus, a BBC News investigation has found. The clinics are loosely regulated while promising low prices, high success rates and a wide choice of donors. The area has become one of the most popular destinations for British people seeking fertility treatment abroad. Dozens more cases emerge In each case, parents suspect they did not receive the donors they had selected, despite choosing anonymous donors based on details such as medical history, appearance, personality, education and hobbies. Half of the 30 children were born from procedures at one clinic, Dogus IVF Centre. “It’s absolutely scandalous,” said one of the mothers, Rachel, who recently learned she received the wrong sperm donor from the clinic. Three people worked in the care of many of the patients at Dogus: Dr Firdevs Uguz Tip, Dr Sevket Alpturk, and patient co-ordinator Julie Hodson. Parents suspect these staff members may have misled them. Firdevs denies any wrongdoing, and neither Alpturk nor Hodson has responded to the BBC’s questions. The BBC first revealed the emerging scandal in March, when a small group of parents appeared to have been misled about donors. Responding to those allegations at the time, the “Ministry of Health” in the north said it had launched an official investigation, but it has not responded to the BBC’s repeated requests for further information. Since then, more parents have come forward with similar accounts. Most said the clinics they used had promised screened, healthy donors from Western Europe, but they grew suspicious after their children were born. Eleven of the 30 children have now taken commercial DNA tests showing they inherited genetic ancestry from Turkey or surrounding countries, suggesting the requested donors were not used. Most of the children who took DNA tests were conceived through IVF between 2012 and 2024 at the Dogus clinic. “These reports are deeply troubling,” said Laura Bridgens, founder of the charity Donor Conceived UK. “It’s a fundamental human right for a donor-conceived person to know the truth about their origins.” Wrong sperm donor Rachel said she spent years questioning whether she had been given the wrong sperm donor during her treatment at Dogus IVF Centre. After reading the BBC’s first article, she and her donor-conceived son Jonah, 13, took DNA tests, and the results confirmed her fears. “I used to think the clinic had made a one-off mistake,” she said. After learning more families had come forward, she said “it feels like this is something much bigger and more deceitful. “Rachel chose Dogus in 2012 because of a “helpful and friendly” patient co-ordinator, Julie Hodson, whose role was to liaise between Rachel and Dr Firdevs Uguz Tip, known professionally as Dr Firdevs, who carried out her treatment. Rachel, then 39, needed a sperm donor so her eggs could be fertilised in a lab and the resulting embryo implanted into her uterus. The IVF package cost about €4,000, roughly £3,200 at the time, significantly cheaper than similar treatment in the UK, and included donor sperm from Cryos International in Denmark. Rachel selected an anonymous Danish donor known on his profile as Ditto, who had stated he would be happy for any offspring to learn his identity at 18. “I wanted any child of mine to have the choice of being able to contact the donor,” Rachel said. “For a child trying to figure out who they are in the world, it could be really important. “Several patient co-ordinators at the clinic, including Hodson, told Rachel that Firdevs would arrange her sperm donor order. Hodson confirmed by email in April 2012 that she would ask Firdevs to place the order. Rachel travelled to the occupied north for the treatment and became pregnant shortly afterwards. She said she first grew concerned that Ditto was not the donor when patient co-ordinators, including Hodson, repeatedly refused to send her a medical report confirming his sperm had been used. When Jonah was born, his physical appearance also raised questions, differing greatly from both her own and the description on Ditto’s profile. After 13 years of uncertainty, DNA tests now indicate Jonah is Rachel’s biological son, but that Ditto was not the sperm donor. After viewing the DNA results, the BBC approached Cryos, which said it has no record of ever delivering sperm to the Dogus clinic, despite Dogus having advertised its relationship with the sperm bank as a key selling point for years. Rachel said the findings make no difference to her love for Jonah, but what upsets her most is that he may have lost the chance to contact his real donor in future. She does not know whether that donor has been used in other treatments. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are genetic siblings out there,” she said. Negligence or deception? Fertility experts reviewing the findings said they were shocked that 30 children could be affected. The accidental use of an incorrect donor is extremely rare, they said, and an error of this scale occurring repeatedly suggests “negligence” or “deception.” It points to a “systemic problem which transcends one rogue doctor and one rogue clinic,” according to the British Fertility Society. Of the 15 cases linked to Dogus, three staff members were repeatedly involved. Dr Sevket Alpturk is the owner and “responsible manager” of the clinic, whose role is to sign off all procedures and activities, according to the authorities in the north. He treated the parents of six children at Dogus who suspect they may have received the wrong donors. He has not responded to the BBC’s questions. The nine other children linked to Dogus were treated by Firdevs, who says Alpturk was responsible for signing off procedures and denies ever misleading patients. Firdevs went on to treat nine more similar cases at two other clinics after leaving Dogus in 2015, most of them at Miracle IVF, which she currently runs. She insists the clinic has always complied with the law and that patients sign consent forms explaining how donors are chosen, though many parents say they were not properly informed. Julie Hodson was the primary contact for most British patients and regularly told them by email that Firdevs would order sperm from Cryos on their behalf. Firdevs has told the BBC that sperm procurement was not part of her job and that she did not know patients were being told otherwise. The BBC asked Hodson whether she deliberately failed to place orders with Cryos, or simply never passed on the requests. She has not responded. Both Hodson and Firdevs have also been accused of dismissing or ignoring patients who raised concerns about their donors. Responding to the findings, Cryos CEO Ole Schou said he was “shocked to hear how many families may be affected.” The sperm bank said it blacklisted Dogus in 2016 over concern the clinic had failed to order Cryos sperm for a patient despite saying it would, and has now also suspended working with Firdevs and Miracle IVF until the investigation by the authorities in the north has concluded. Firdevs says she has now been cleared of breaching any laws, but the BBC has been unable to confirm this with the “Ministry of Health” in the north. It may never be established who was ultimately responsible for the wrong donors being given to parents. For much of his young life, Jonah believed he was half Danish. DNA tests have since shown he has Turkish and southern European ancestry instead. “Luckily Jonah was fascinated to find out about his heritage,” Rachel said. 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