Jonathan Meijer’s exploits led to an investigation by the public broadcaster in The Netherlands, a probe which centered around the professional association of gynaecologists (NVOG)
An authority has apologised following an investigation around “mass” sperm donors – after a man was somehow able to father up to 1,000 children.
Jonathan Meijer said he became a prolific sperm donor to do “something meaningful with my life” but he had exposed a loophole in Ditch law to do so. Meijer, a YouTuber, advertised his services online to families desperate for a child, promising them he would be helping only five families with a private semen donation. It later emerged that figure was a lie; there were far more than five families he was helping, and in addition to that he was donating to 11 sperm banks in The Netherlands and more clinics globally.
But now, following an investigation sparked by Meijer’s behaviour, it has emerged at least 85 men used the loophole to become “mass” sperm donors over the past 20 years. Marieke Schoonenberg, head of the professional association of gynaecologists (NVOG) in The Netherlands, said: “The number of mass donors in the clinics should have been zero. We want to offer our apologies on behalf of the profession. We did not do it right.”
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Since April 1 this year, tightened legislation has been in place which means donors and mothers have been registered on a central national database, instead of per clinic. This applies retroactively to 2004.
Mr Schoonenberg added: “We now know for the first time the number of offspring per donor in the Netherlands.” Most cases of mass donation involved “26 to 40 children per person, with a few outliers going up to 50 or even 75 children per donor”.
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Until 2018, the maximum number of children allowed per donor according to the NVOG guidelines was 25, which then changed to 12. The laws are intended to prevent inbreeding, unintentional incest or psychological problems for offspring who discover they have hundreds of unknown siblings.
A central register came into force in 2023 after judges ordered Meijer to stop donating sperm when he was found to be in breach of Dutch regulations. Until then, donors were able to register with multiple clinics. Some clinics, it has emerged, were deliberately using individuals more than 25 times, without consent of the donor or the mothers.
Meijer, from the Hague and now living in Africa, donated sperm to at least 13 clinics, including 11 in the Netherlands, as well as approaching prospective parents via social media. Earlier this year he was forced by Dutch judges to remove YouTube videos in which he sought to address his offspring, including advice to eat pig brains, to become a traditional stay-at-home housewife and not to use shampoo.
