Dutch court orders man who fathered over 550 children to stop sperm donation
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Hague: The 41-year-old Jonathan Jacob will have to pay a hefty amount of 100,000 Euros (Rs 90,41,657) as ordered by a Netherlands court if he was caught in a case of donating sperm next after being found fathering more than 550 children through sperm donation.
The case against him came to court in The Hague after a woman who carried a child with his sperm wanted to stop him from donating further as a matter of respecting mothers' interest.
All parents involved are now facing the reality that their children are part of a large kinship network consisting of hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose.
On Friday, Judge Hesselink issued a ruling prohibiting the defendant from donating his semen to new prospective parents and ordered him not to contact any prospective parents with the intention of donating sperm. Additionally, the judge prohibited him from advertising his services to prospective parents or joining any organization that facilitates contact between prospective parents.
It is noteworthy that Meijer donated his sperm to at least 13 clinics, 11 of which are located in the Netherlands.
According to Dutch clinical guidelines, sperm donors should not donate to more than 12 women or fathers more than 25 children to prevent cases of accidental breeding and psychological problems in children who may become distressed upon discovering they have hundreds of siblings.
However, Meijer helped produce between 550 and 600 children since he began donating sperm in 2007. Although he was banned from donating to fertility clinics in the Netherlands in 2017, he continued to donate sperm abroad and online.
One of the mothers involved in the court case expressed gratitude that the court had prevented the man from making "mass donations that [have] spread like wildfire to other countries."
However, the donor's lawyer argued during a court hearing that he wanted to assist parents who might otherwise be unable to conceive. Meijer, who is a musician by profession, currently resides in Kenya.