The healthcare watchdog has been aware for at least six months that fertility clinics are using sperm from men who are too old to donate legally but has not taken any action, according to a report by Nieuwsuur.

Dutch law requires that sperm donors may not be older than 45, as sperm from older donors carries a higher risk of disorders.

However, several private clinics, including the Medisch Centrum Kinderwens, have been using sperm from older donors.

A report released earlier this year by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate, which oversees the safety of healthcare organisations, revealed that Medisch Centrum Kinderwens had exceeded the maximum number of offspring per donor on multiple occasions and used donor sperm from men who were too old to donate.

We are “seriously concerned that the [Health and Youth Care Inspectorate] does not seem to be taking decisive action on this point,” the Donor Child Foundation said in a statement.

In the Netherlands, a donor may father only 12 children to prevent issues with genetics. Last year, a Dutch man who fathered at least 550 children was ordered to stop donating or face financial penalties.