Northern Cyprus IVF clinics used wrong donors for at least 30 children
Parents selected donors based on health, education and interests, but DNA tests showed different origins
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Northern Cyprus IVF clinics used wrong donors for at least 30 children
Photograph: 24ur.com (embedded from source)
What this story says
- At least 30 children, mostly British, were conceived with sperm or eggs from donors their parents did not select at Northern Cyprus IVF clinics.
- DNA tests on 11 children showed genetic origins from Turkey or nearby countries, not the donors chosen by parents.
- Dogus IVF Centre is linked to at least 15 of the cases, and Cryos International blacklisted it in 2016.
- The Northern Cyprus Ministry of Health has launched an official investigation, but no conclusions have been announced.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 11 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 8 of the 19 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
78/100
Craft
75/100
Hype
25/100
19 sources · methodology
At least 30 children, most of them British, were conceived at IVF clinics in Northern Cyprus using sperm or eggs from donors different from those their parents had selected. The parents, as reported by the BBC, chose donors based on health, appearance, personality, education and interests. DNA tests conducted on 11 of the children revealed genetic origins from Turkey or nearby countries, contradicting the donors’ profiles the parents had selected.
The Dogus IVF Centre is implicated in at least 15 of the cases. Cryos International, the world’s largest sperm bank, blacklisted the clinic in 2016. The Northern Cyprus Ministry of Health launched an investigation after the BBC reported the first seven cases earlier this year. No conclusions from the investigation have been made public.
Three staff members at Dogus IVF Centre, doctor Firdevs Uğuz Tip, doctor Şevket Alptürk and patient coordinator Julie Hodson, were involved in many of the cases. Tip has denied any wrongdoing, while Alptürk and Hodson have not responded to inquiries from the BBC.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention the specific criteria parents used to select donors, health, appearance, personality, education and interests. None of the right-rated digests report that Cryos International blacklisted Dogus IVF Centre in 2016. The left and centre-rated digests all included both details.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 18 Aug 2026, 22:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The three left-rated reports led on the scale of the scandal and the personal impact on families. Novinky.cz and 24ur.com both carried the figure of 30 children and named Dogus IVF Centre as the primary clinic involved. Novinky.cz quoted Rachel, a mother who discovered her son’s donor was not the one she selected, saying, "Dřív jsem si myslela, že se klinika jednou zmýlila… Teď to ale vypadá jako něco mnohem většího a podvodného." The reports also noted that Cryos International blacklisted Dogus in 2016.
- All three left-rated digests included the parents’ selection criteria for donors, health, appearance, personality, education and interests, and the discrepancy revealed by DNA tests. Novinky.cz and 24ur.com both mentioned that the children’s genetic origins traced to Turkey or nearby countries, not the donors chosen by parents. None of the left-rated digests omitted the health ministry’s investigation.
Centre
5 rated outlets
- The four centre-rated reports focused on the investigation and the regulatory environment in Northern Cyprus. BBC News and ANSA led with the number of affected children and the parents’ suspicions that the clinics used the wrong donors. BBC News and 24ur.com both reported that the Northern Cyprus Ministry of Health had launched an official investigation, though no findings have been released.
- The centre-rated digests included the parents’ selection criteria for donors and the DNA test results showing genetic origins from Turkey or nearby countries. BBC News and ANSA both named Dogus IVF Centre as the primary clinic involved. None of the centre-rated digests omitted the Cryos International blacklisting or the involvement of the three staff members.
Right
3 rated outlets
- The three right-rated digests led on the number of affected children and the regulatory differences between Northern Cyprus and the UK. NOS and Protothema both reported that at least 30 children were conceived with the wrong donors, and Cyprus Mail noted that most of the children are British. Protothema’s headline stated, "British Parents Chose Donors, but DNA Tests Showed Otherwise."
- All three right-rated digests included the parents’ suspicions that the clinics used the wrong donors and the DNA test results showing genetic origins from Turkey or nearby countries. None of the right-rated digests mentioned the parents’ selection criteria for donors, health, appearance, personality, education and interests, or the Cryos International blacklisting of Dogus IVF Centre in 2016.
Read it at the source
19 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- Scandals Erupted One After Another: The Truth Came Out when the Child Turned 13 - Sözcü Newspaper (opens Sözcü in a new tab)
- 30 Kids, Wrong Donors: Inside The IVF Clinic Scandal Rocking UK Families (opens Outlook India in a new tab)
Outlook India — is Outlook India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- At Least Thirty Children From Other Donors. Northern Cyprus Clinic Faces Huge Scandal (opens Novinky.cz in a new tab)
Novinky.cz — is Novinky.cz biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
5- Workers at IVF Centers in Cyprus Accused of Misleading British Parents (opens cedarnews.net in a new tab)
cedarnews.net — is cedarnews.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Scandal of Test Tube Children in Northern Cyprus, 30 Born From Wrong Donors (opens ANSA in a new tab)
- IVF staff accused of misleading parents about sperm and egg donors in northern Cyprus (opens The Star Kenya in a new tab)
The Star Kenya — is The Star Kenya biased? Our profile of this outlet
- 30 Children Conceived with the Wrong Sperm and Eggs (opens 24ur.com in a new tab)
- IVF staff accused of misleading UK parents about donors at northern Cyprus clinics (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Right
3- Dozens of Children Possibly Conceived by 'Wrong' Sperm in Northern Cyprus (opens NOS in a new tab)
- IVF Scandal in the Occupied Territories: British Parents Chose Donors, but DNA Tests Showed Otherwise (opens Protothema in a new tab)
Protothema — is Protothema biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘At least 30’ children conceived using wrong donors at north’s IVF clinics (opens Cyprus Mail in a new tab)
Cyprus Mail — is Cyprus Mail biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
8- ‘Absolutely scandalous’: 30 children feared caught up in IVF donor scandal (opens easterneye.biz in a new tab)
easterneye.biz — is easterneye.biz biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Dozens of Children in Northern Cyprus Possibly Conceived with 'Wrong' Sperm (opens NU in a new tab)
- IVF Scandal in Cyprus: More than 30 Children Found to Have Different Biological Fathers. (opens Halk TV in a new tab)
- Fertilization: Scandal on Donor Fitness in Cyprus (opens Agi.it in a new tab)
- The IVF Scandal in Northern Cyprus Is Escalating: The Number of Suspected Cases Has Risen to 30. (opens Haberler in a new tab)
- IVF Scandal North Cyprus: at Least 30 Children Born with False Sperm (opens 20 Minuten in a new tab)
20 Minuten — is 20 Minuten biased? Our profile of this outlet
- UK issues travel warning over fertility treatment in Cyprus after IVF donor scandal (opens philenews.com in a new tab)
philenews.com — is philenews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- IVF staff accused of misleading UK parents about sperm and egg donors in northern Cyprus (opens capitalfm.africa in a new tab)
capitalfm.africa — is capitalfm.africa biased? Our profile of this outlet
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Northern Cyprus IVF clinics used wrong donors for at least 30 children?
- Of the 11 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 27% are rated left, 46% are rated centre, 27% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 19. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Northern Cyprus IVF clinics used wrong donors for at least 30 children left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 11 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Northern Cyprus IVF clinics used wrong donors for at least 30 children biased?
- Northern Cyprus IVF clinics used wrong donors for at least 30 children is one event reported by 19 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Northern Cyprus IVF clinics used wrong donors for at least 30 children?
- 19 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many children were affected by the IVF donor scandal in Northern Cyprus?
- At least 30 children, mostly British, were conceived using sperm or eggs from donors different from those their parents selected. DNA tests on 11 of the children confirmed genetic origins from Turkey or nearby countries, not the chosen donors.
- Which IVF clinic is linked to the scandal?
- Dogus IVF Centre is implicated in at least 15 of the cases. Cryos International, the world’s largest sperm bank, blacklisted the clinic in 2016 after concerns about its practices.
- What did the DNA tests reveal about the children’s origins?
- DNA tests on 11 children showed genetic origins from Turkey or nearby countries, not the donors selected by their parents. The parents had chosen donors based on health, appearance, personality, education and interests.
- Has the Northern Cyprus Ministry of Health responded to the scandal?
- The Northern Cyprus Ministry of Health launched an official investigation after the BBC reported the first cases earlier this year. No conclusions from the investigation have been made public.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
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