The quality of semen in men from northern Spain is higher than that of men from the center and south of the country, despite similar lifestyles. This is the conclusion of a study presented this Tuesday at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), which links these differences to higher exposure to environmental contaminants. "Given the widespread presence of air pollution in many urban environments, its possible effects on male fertility deserve further investigation," argues Professor Rocío Núñez-Calonge, lead author of the study published in the journal Human Reproduction. To reach these conclusions, they analyzed the semen quality and lifestyle of 386 men who underwent a fertility assessment at seven assisted reproduction centers in Spain between June 2024 and December 2025. Factors such as place of residence, body mass index (BMI), medical history, physical activity, exposure to chemicals, medication use, smoking, alcohol, drugs, and coffee consumption were taken into account. The results revealed significant regional differences in semen volume, sperm concentration, motility, morphology, and total motile sperm count. The prevalence of asthenozoospermia (reduced sperm motility) and teratozoospermia (abnormal sperm morphology) was also considered.

Nearly 200 babies have been conceived in Europe over the past decade using sperm from a donor carrying a potentially deadly cancer gene. Of these, a dozen were born in Spain, according to an investigation by the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) Investigative Journalism Network published Wednesday. The man donated his sperm at the Copenhagen headquarters of the European Sperm Bank (ESB) in 2005 after passing all the required medical examinations at the time. The Danish bank then sold the sperm to various clinics across Europe, including three in Spain. The donor, identified as 7069 or Kjled, is a student who donated sperm a decade ago and carries a genetic mutation that increases the risk of developing cancer. His sperm was sold between 2006 and 2023 to 67 fertility clinics across Europe, despite some countries limiting the number of births per donor, as there is no international regulation governing this, according to an investigation by several European media outlets, including RTVE. Thirty-five children were conceived in Spain using his sperm, but only ten were born alive. In 2023, the use of this sperm was blocked after a sample was found to contain a "new and potentially fatal genetic alteration," a pathology derived from the TP53 mutation, which is Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a disease that predisposes the carrier to complications. RTVE Ann-Kathrin Klym, head of the laboratory at the Berliner Samenbank sperm bank, explained that in Spain, once the alert was received, clinics immediately blocked the samples they had received to prevent further use.