A DNA test turned Jenni King's life upside down. She wasn't her father's biological daughter, and DNA genealogy revealed the whole truth. The doctor who had inseminated her mother had secretly used his own sperm. During the 90s and 1970s, the doctor, now over 1980 years old, received involuntarily childless women in Norrbotten. In contact with Uppdrag granskning, he admits that he used his own sperm and believes that the intention was to help.

"What did we do 40-50 years ago, why dig into it?

First case in Sweden

During the year, Uppdrag Granskning has revealed several shortcomings in Swedish infertility care. Sperm has been stolen from men in Halmstad and Uppsala and they have involuntarily become biological fathers. What has now been revealed is the first Swedish case where a doctor has used his own sperm – without the women's consent.

"It's completely unacceptable. It's not professional behaviour," says Kerstin Nilsson, senior professor at Örebro University and expert in the Swedish Medical Council.

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How Jenni King understood that the doctor was her sperm donor – watch her tell her story. Photo: SVT

Six of the doctor's seven known donor-conceived children live in the same part of Norrbotten.

"We've worked at the same workplaces, gone to the same schools, hung out in the same circle of friends," says "Pontus", who wishes to remain anonymous.

"Hope there aren't more"

There are several similar cases in the world. In Canada, in 2021, a doctor was sentenced to pay millions of dollars to families where the doctor used himself as a sperm donor.

In Sweden, there was no legislation on inseminations before 1985 and it is therefore not clear whether the doctor in Norrbotten is guilty of any crime. But it is an ethical violation regardless, says Senior Professor Kerstin Nilsson.

"Since we have a licence, the population has the right to expect that the activities we conduct take place within certain frameworks, which must be known and open.

Region Norrbotten has started an incident analysis to try to find out what happened. Director of Health and Medical Services Pia Näsvall regrets the situation that affected children and parents have ended up in.

"I hope there aren't any more, but we really don't know.