Man who fathered hundreds can't donate sperm

A Dutch court has ruled that a man who fathered at least 550 children in the past 16 years lied to expectant mothers and fertility clinics .

A man who fathered between 550 and 600 children in the past 16 years is no longer allowed to donate sperm to expectant parents, a court heard Friday Dutch.

According to The Hague District Court, the man lied about the number of children he had already fathered, the number of sperm donations he had done and his intention to donate even more sperm.

"All these parents are now confronted with the fact that the children of their family are part of a vast network of relatives, with hundreds of half-siblings, that they did not choose," the court said.

Due to Dutch privacy laws, the government did not appoint publicly the man, Jonathan Jacob Meijer, 41, in the legal proceedings as a donor in question. However, in an email to The New York Times for a 2021 story about him, a Department of Health spokesperson confirmed his identity. “Donors must sign an agreement with their clinic stating that they will not donate sperm to other clinics,” wrote Gerrit-Jan KleinJan. "The sperm donor you are talking about also made this deal. Nevertheless, he donated to more sperm banks, resulting in 102 babies. of children from sperm donors, and a mother who had one of her children."Children deserve a rest," the mother, who went by the name Eva but omitted her last name, said in a statement on Friday.

Quoting negative psychological consequences for the children, the court said preventing Mr. Meijer from continuing to donate was in the children's best interests, as it would be difficult for them to cultivate relationships with so many biological half-siblings , and it increases the risk of incest, the court said.

In the Netherlands, Mr Meijer donated sperm to at least 11 fertility clinics , according to court documents.Each of these clinics allows his sperm to produce 25 children or be given to a maximum of 12 mothers, as is the rule in the Netherlands. Mr. Meijer also lied to the clinics, according to court records, telling each clinic that he had not donated elsewhere and had no plans to do so in the future.

A 2017 report concluded that Mr Meijer fathered 102 children in Dutch clinics between 2007 and 2017. Between 2015 and 2018 he also donated sperm to a fertility clinic in Denmark which, at the time, imposed no limit on the number of children produced from donated sperm and who sent sperm to people in other countries.

In addition to his donations to the clinic, Mr. Meijer has also donated his sperm on various social media platforms in the Netherlands and abroad. According to the court, Mr. Meijer remains in contact with several parents.

The Dutch Donor Child Foundation — which posted an image of two champagne glasses clinking on Twitter to celebrate the verdict with the words "important step forward!" — supported the decision. "We're glad the judge ruled it wasn't a good idea to have countless half-siblings," board member Ester de Lau said.

Dutch lawmakers are putting in place new rules for sperm donors to protect the interests of children. The Dutch House of Representatives debated the issue this month.

"In the Netherlands, we believe it is important for everyone to have information about their lineage", according to Ernst Kuipers, Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport. It has been possible for children of donors to request such information since 2004. But the government wants to establish a central register which would show if a sperm donor has donated to several clinics.

"The new rules would discourage undesirable situations in which sperm donors sometimes father hundreds of children," according to the bill.