Women may have been fertilized with wrong sperm

One couple's sperm may have been given to 26 other couples after a "procedural error" at an IVF clinic in the Netherlands.

An IVF treatment centre has filed an investigation after discovering that 26 women may have been fertilised by sperm cells from the wrong man.

The University Medical Centre in Utrecht, Netherlands released a statement, where it said that sperm cells from one couple "may have ended up with the egg cells of 26 other couples" due to a "procedural error" between April 2015 and November 2016.

That would suggest one man may end up fathering 26 children to strangers.

Half the women who underwent IVF treatment have become pregnant or given birth so far.

The centre said: "For some of the 26 couples, frozen embryos are still available but the chance remains that they (too) have been fertilised by the sperm from a man other than the intended father.

"The UMC's board regrets that the couples involved had to receive this news and will do everything within its powers to give clarity on the issue as soon as possible."