Donor Children Call Insemination Fraud ‘Abuse’ in Landmark Study
A new qualitative study from KU Leuven reveals that donor children and their families affected by insemination fraud describe the experience as feeling like abuse, leading many to reject the term “fraud” in favor of “insemination abuse.” The research, published on July 7, 2026, sheds light on the profound and lasting psychological trauma experienced by those caught in Belgium’s ongoing donor scandal.
The Study
Psychologist and researcher Astrid Indekeu of KU Leuven’s Life Sciences & Society Lab conducted in-depth interviews with 19 participants — 14 donor children and 5 parents from both Flanders and the Netherlands. According to VRT NWS, which first reported on the findings, the study aimed to move beyond the technical aspects of the scandals and understand what these discoveries truly do to families.
“In the media, these stories often get brief, punchy coverage, but the conversations taught me that it’s a drawn-out process that occupies families for a very long time,” Indekeu said. “People often focus on the technical aspect, but I wanted to know what such a discovery really does to families.”
From ‘Fraud’ to ‘Abuse’
A central finding of the study is the terminology shift that affected families are calling for. The term “fraud” implies a financial or legal transgression, but participants described their experience as something far more personal and violating.
“It feels for donor families like abuse,” Indekeu explained. “Abuse of power and abuse of the doctor’s position.”
The research documents multiple forms of insemination fraud, including doctors using their own sperm instead of donor sperm, donor sperm being used when there was an agreement to use the partner’s sperm, sperm donated for scientific research being redirected to fertility treatments, and donor children discovering they have far more half-siblings than they were told. Some cases involved “double errors” — the wrong donor combined with a donor used far too many times.
A Crisis of Trust
The study arrives amid a broader donor scandal that has shaken Belgium since May 2025, when it emerged that 37 women became pregnant using sperm from a single Danish donor carrying a genetic mutation linked to cancer. The crisis exposed systemic failures in oversight, with at least 85 sperm donors since 2004 having conceived more children than the legal limit of six families per donor.
In April 2026, the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG) announced a comprehensive reform plan, including thematic inspections of all Belgian fertility centers from April 2026 to early 2027. According to the FAGG, the plan aims to restore public trust through greater transparency, strengthened oversight, and the creation of an independent Institute for Donor Data by July 2027.
Call for Transparency and Support
Beyond terminology, the study highlights a critical gap in psychosocial support for donor families. Participants reported often encountering closed doors or vague answers from the institutions involved.
“Families ask for openness and accountability,” Indekeu said. “They want proactive clinics and sincere apologies, so that the care relationship doesn’t immediately turn into a legal conflict.”
The research found that knowing the identity of the donor father helps donor children move forward, providing answers to lifelong questions. However, access to this information remains inconsistent.
Indekeu also pointed to a global shortage of dedicated support services. “There is a global shortage of a fixed place where they can go with their questions,” she said. “Aftercare for families welcoming a donor child is still in its infancy.”
Implications and Outlook
The study’s findings carry significant implications for policy, medical ethics, and legal reform. The push to recognize insemination fraud as a form of abuse could influence future legislation, potentially changing statutes of limitations or criminal classifications. It also adds weight to calls for fertility clinics to invest more in transparency and proactive communication.
As Belgium’s FAGG reform plan unfolds through 2027, the voices of donor children and their families — now backed by rigorous academic research — are making clear that what they experienced was not merely a bureaucratic failure, but a profound betrayal of trust that demands recognition, accountability, and meaningful support.
Dr. Astrid Indekeu’s profile at KU Leuven notes her extensive background in research on family formation through donor conception. Her work continues through DONAE, a support and expertise center for donor-conceived families.