• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Sperm donor who has at least 550 kids ordered to stop by the court

Home> News

Updated 19:34 28 Apr 2023 GMT+1Published 19:27 28 Apr 2023 GMT+1

Sperm donor who has at least 550 kids ordered to stop by the court

He lied to prospective parents about his donation history

Amelia Jones

Amelia Jones

A court in the Netherlands has banned a man suspected of fathering more than 550 children through sperm donations from making any further deposits.

The ruling was passed on Friday after it was revealed that the donor had lied to both prospective mothers and fertility clinics, fathering between 550 and 600 children over the past 16 years.

The man was identified in Dutch media only as 41-year-old, Jonathan M, however a spokesman for the health ministry confirmed his identity for the New York Times as Jonathan Jacob Meijer.

Dutch guidelines state that sperm donors are allowed to father a maximum of 25 children with 12 mothers.

Advert

According to The Hague District Court, he'd lied about the number of children he had fathered, the number of sperm deposits he had made and his intention to donate more in the future.

Meijer's refusal to follow the rules could affect the mental health of the children he fathered.
YouTube/@JonathanJacobMeijer

A mother of one child conceived with the donor's sperm and a foundation representing other parents sought an injunction.

"I hope this ruling leads to a ban on mass donation and spreads like an oil slick to other countries," said the mother who was identified simply as 'Eva' due to anonymity laws.

"We must stand hand in hand around our children and protect them against this injustice."

Advert

The alarm was first raised about Meijer in 2017, by which point he'd been barred from donating after fathering around 100 children in 10 clinics in his home country though fertility clinics, facilities, adverts and online forums and had resorted to making sperm donations abroad instead.

While his lawyer claims his client wanted to help people to conceive, the judge hearing the civil case disagreed saying that he'd 'deliberately lied'.

The court's statement continued: "All these parents are now confronted with the fact that the children in their family are part of a huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose."

He is thought to have donated sperm leading to the birth of between 500-600 children.
YouTube/@JonathanJacobMeijer

Claiming this could have 'negative psychosocial consequences', the court said 'it is therefore in their interest that this kinship network is not extended any further'.

Advert

The court also stated that the case concerned 'conflicting fundamental rights', explaining: "On the one hand, the right to respect for the privacy of the parents and the donor children ... and on the other hand, the same right of the donor."

The eventual ruling was that 'the interests of the donor children and their parents outweigh the interest of the donor in continuing to donate sperm to new prospective parents'.

Meijer faces a €100,000 (£88,000) fine per case if he breaches his ban.

Lawyer Mark de Hek called the ruling a 'clear signal' and 'final warning to other mass donors'.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/@JonathanJacobMeijer

Topics: Health, Mental Health, News, Parenting

Amelia Jones
Amelia Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    Strict process to be granted entry into UK's biggest swinging festival as organiser explains why it's so important

    Matt Cole and his wife Stacie are the masterminds behind Swingathon, which is returning for its fifth year this weekend

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Woman who filmed 'Coldplay couple' reveals why she decided to share the video

    Grace Springer shared the video on TikTok on Wednesday (16 July)

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Dad dies after being bitten by bat while trying to remove it from his home

    An investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding Craig Nolte's illness

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Company releases statement after CEO was 'caught with another woman' at Coldplay concert in viral video

    Astronomer has shared a statement following the viral video

    News
  • British mother who starved herself to death to stop children seeing her die of ‘worst disease’ shared symptoms of illness
  • Woman, 21, issues stark warning after £280 a week ketamine addiction left her needing the toilet 'every two seconds'
  • Tragic story of 'world's strongest boy' Little Hercules who lives a very different lifestyle now
  • Man who received heart transplant goes on to live same life and death as donor