Netherlands: serial progenitor banned from sperm donation
On the premises of a sperm bank in Denmark. (Illustration). AFP - HENNING BAGGER
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A Dutch court on Friday banned a "mass donor", the parent of at least 550 children, from donating his sperm to future parents. He risks a fine of 100,000 euros in case of a new donation. The complaint came from a mother and the Donorkind Foundation, "donor child".
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He has given birth to at least 550 children since 2007, a record no doubt. Jonathan M, 41, had boasted in court of having initiated a new concept: his sperm donations, he explained at the first hearing in a packed room, were a "service with added value". The man even had a site where his biological children could get in touch with him or each other, according to the NL Times newspaper. He also said he was available to attend births or graduations.
The complainants allege deception. Jonathan M had assured a mother when she resorted to a donation in 2018, that he would respect the law. The latter limits the number of procreations to 25 children for the same donor to avoid the risk of consanguinity and incest (in France this number is set at 10). However, since 2007, humans have fathered between 550 and 600 children in several countries.
The judges ruled Thursday that the risk of children suffering from psychological problems related to their identity and fear of incest was plausible, and banned Jonathan M from continuing his serial donations.
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