A Dutch sperm donor with hundreds of children who spawned a Netflix documentary was not an isolated case in the Netherlands, with at least 85 donors found to have fathered over 25 children each.
Image shows Jonathan Jacob Meijer, aged 41, from the city of Hague, the Netherlands, undated photo. He was charged with misleading hundreds of women worldwide and fathering nearly 550 children. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (CEN)
The donor made headlines at the time, but it has now emerged that there are at least 85 donors in the country who have fathered over 25 offspring each.
In the Netherlands, a sperm donor is considered a mass donor if he has more than 25 children.
Until 2018, that was the maximum number of children allowed per donor, according to government guidelines.
And the same year, that agreement was adjusted to a maximum of twelve families per donor. Now it turns out that the clinics have not always adhered to their own guidelines.
The Dutch gynaecologists' association (NVOG) is calling on all mothers, the children of donors and donors themselves to contact the fertility clinics concerned if they want more information.
Image shows Jonathan Jacob Meijer, aged 41, from the city of Hague, the Netherlands, undated photo. He was charged with misleading hundreds of women worldwide and fathering nearly 550 children. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (CEN)
Gynaecologist Marieke Schoonenberg, speaking on behalf of the NVOG, 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."
Since 1st April, the tightened Donor Data Artificial Insemination Act has been in effect. Since this month, donors and mothers have been registered nationwide, instead of per clinic.
The revelations come after Jonathan Jacob Meijer made headlines in 2023.
He has at least 550 children all over the world.
About 375 live in the Netherlands, 80 in Germany, 35 in Belgium, four in Argentina, and two in Australia.
Image shows Jonathan Jacob Meijer, aged 41, from the city of Hague, the Netherlands, undated photo. He was charged with misleading hundreds of women worldwide and fathering nearly 550 children. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (CEN)
His fathering spree began in 2007, when Meijer, 42, registered as a sperm donor at 11 clinics and at the Cryos sperm bank.
(Joseph Golder / newsX)