A Dutch man, identified as Jonathan M., is facing legal action to prevent him from fathering more children after allegedly fathering over 550 children worldwide.
The man, who has donated sperm to at least 13 clinics in the Netherlands and overseas, has been accused of violating the guidelines that allow one person to donate sperm for up to 25 offspring or 12 families to prevent incest relations and protect the mental health of donor children.
The Donorkind Foundation, an organization that advocates for donor children’s rights, and a woman who conceived a child using Jonathan M.’s donated sperm in 2018 are behind the lawsuit.
The mother stated that had she known about the number of children Jonathan M. had fathered, she would never have chosen him as a donor.
The man had already been blacklisted in the Netherlands in 2017 after it emerged that he had more than a hundred donor children.
However, he is alleged to have continued donating abroad and through illicit channels, offering his sperm under the counter via social media.
According to the foundation’s lawyer, Jonathan M. violated agreements with the clinics and prospective parents, who relied on his commitment to only conceive up to 25 children.
The lawyer stated that the donor prioritized his urge to reproduce and his conduct poses a threat to the mental and physical well-being of donor children.
The limit of 25 offspring is designed to prevent the risk of two half-siblings forming an intimate relationship.
PET (Progress Educational Trust), a platform for people affected by infertility or genetic conditions, highlighted that the limit of 25 offspring is designed to keep levels of consanguinity among donor-conceived people similar to that in the overall population.
The Dutch media report that Jonathan M. is now living in Kenya and declined to comment on the legal proceedings against him. The details of the legal proceedings are yet to be announced.
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