Turkish Cypriot “health minister” Hakan Dincyurek on Thursday responded to international media reports accusing an IVF centre in the north of providing families with incorrect sperm during treatment.

“We have initiated investigations at the relevant centre, taking into account the reports in the press,” Dincyurek said.

He added that the ministry is treating the reports as formal complaints and assured that the findings will be made public once the investigation is completed.

Dincyurek explained that IVF centres fall under the ministry’s remit and confirmed that an inspection of the centre in question has already been carried out.

He said the cases highlighted in the media date back to 2016 and that the investigation will be conducted in accordance with the legislation in force at the time.

The results, he added, will be disclosed publicly.

“No one should have any doubts, we are doing what is necessary within the legal framework,” he said.

He noted that, should the findings warrant further administrative or judicial action, the necessary steps will be taken.

Dincyurek also said that providing additional details at this stage could affect the process, stressing that any further action will depend on the outcome of the investigation.

“All necessary steps will be taken,” he added.

The scandal surrounding the clinic in the north had emerged earlier this week following a comprehensive BBC report, in which three families accused the IVF clinic Dogus hospital in the north of using sperm or egg donors different from those they had selected.

According to the report, the families allege that the clinic used alternative donors, resulting in children who were not biologically related in the way the parents had intended.