Dogus IVF Centre Scandal: Over 30 UK Children Feared Conceived with Wrong Donors
The Azb investigation reveals systematic donor errors and alleged deception involving Dogus IVF Centre and Northern Cyprus fertility clinics
Dogus IVF Centre in Northern Cyprus faces allegations of using wrong sperm and egg donors for UK patients.
LONDON / ISLAMABAD: At least 30 children, most of them British, are feared to have been conceived at Dogus IVF Centre and other northern Cyprus clinics using the wrong sperm or egg donors.
In each case, parents suspect they did not receive the specific anonymous donors they had carefully selected based on medical history, physical appearance, and background.
Dogus IVF Centre at the Center of Growing Scandal
Half of the 30 affected children were born from procedures carried out at a single clinic, Dogus IVF Centre.
The findings are part of an expanded BBC investigation that initially uncovered seven cases earlier this year. Eleven of the children have now taken commercial DNA tests, revealing genetic ancestry from Turkey and surrounding regions—contradicting the Western European donors their parents had paid for.
The investigation also revealed that Cryos International, the world’s largest sperm bank, blacklisted Dogus IVF Centre in 2016 after concerns arose that the clinic was failing to place requested orders while telling patients otherwise.
Staff and Doctors Under Scrutiny
Three individuals linked to Dogus IVF have been repeatedly named by affected families:
Dr. Sevket Alpturk: Owner and responsible manager of Dogus IVF Centre, who treated six affected families.
Dr. Firdevs Uguz Tip: A doctor who treated nine cases at Dogus IVF before leaving in 2015 to join Miracle IVF.
Julie Hodson: A patient coordinator at Dogus IVF who handled primary communications with British patients.
While Dr. Firdevs denies any wrongdoing and blames administrative management, neither Dr. Alpturk nor Hodson have responded to inquiries.
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Travel Warnings Issued for Northern Cyprus IVF
Due to loose regulations in the Turkish-occupied territory of northern Cyprus, the UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice, warning that fertility treatments in the region carry significant risks.
Experts from the British Fertility Society described the widespread errors as a systemic issue that goes beyond a single isolated mistake, pointing to negligence or deliberate deception.
