The Donorkind Foundation, an organization that assists children born through sperm donation in finding their origins, has alleged that a 41-year-old man fathered over 500 children in the Netherlands and worldwide.
The Foundation confirmed that the man, referred to as “Jonathan M.” and identified as musician Jonathan Jacob Meijer by Dutch media, had donated his sperm both nationally and internationally.
While Dutch medical guidelines allow for a donor to father only 25 children to avoid potential incestuous and psychological issues, there are no criminal consequences for exceeding this limit.
However, a lawsuit filed by one of Jonathan’s children’s mothers is seeking to prevent him from future donations.
In 2017, the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NVOG) had already excluded Jonathan from donating after he fathered 102 babies from 11 different clinics.
Despite this, he continued his genetic contributions both online and internationally.
Following the recent allegations, the Donorkind Foundation received calls from over 30 mothers worldwide, concerned that their child could have the same donor as Jonathan’s children.
The Foundation is advocating against keeping donors anonymous as it becomes challenging to control the number of children from each donor.
The Foundation argues that anonymity goes against the child’s right and leads to children’s fears of forming relationships with their siblings unknowingly.
The Donorkind Foundation has asked the Netherlands to destroy Jonathan’s stored samples, except for those to be used by women who already had a baby via his donation and would like to give a sibling to their child.
In the Netherlands, clinics pay donors between $10-$20 for each sperm donation.
