A woman who became a mother through a sperm bank sued a Dutch sperm donor who was determined to be the biological father of 550 children worldwide.
A woman who became a mother through a sperm bank with the Child Donor Foundation in the Netherlands has filed a lawsuit against a Dutch sperm donor who, despite being on the “black list”, was determined to be the biological father of hundreds of children worldwide.
The foundation and mothers do not want Jonhatan M., 41, to donate any more sperm.
Families who have children through sperm donation are concerned that hundreds of children from the same donor may be at risk of incest or consanguineous marriage.
Dutch law allows donors to give sperm to a maximum of 12 women and to father a maximum of 25 children.
However, it was determined that Jonathan M., who lives in The Hague, Netherlands, is the biological father of 102 children despite legal obstacles.
Jonathan M., who was blacklisted and banned from donating in the Netherlands, continued to donate sperm to other sperm banks and individuals around the world.
According to Jonathan M.’s own statements, there are currently 550 children born from their own sperm in various countries.
The Dutch Foundation for Donor Children, founded by people born through sperm donation, and a mother applied to the court to prevent Jonathan M. from donating sperm and to name the clinics he has donated to date.
The Hague Court will take the case first. The court will set the timetable for the trial process on Monday.
In the Netherlands, anonymous sperm donation has been banned since 2004. When the child turns 16, he can learn the identity of his biological father.
In order to prevent children from the same donor from having intercourse with each other and to prevent the spread of hereditary diseases, a maximum of 25 children are allowed from one donor’s sperm.
The Dutch Society of Gynecologists, alerting clinics in 2017, reported that at least 102 children were born with sperm from a donor.
The Netherlands blacklisted Jonathan M. for not donating sperm. However, he continued to donate.
As a result of the researches, it was determined that Jonathan M. lied to the women he came into contact with via the internet and claimed that he did not donate to many people.
It was determined that the Dutch donor donated sperm to clinics and women in many countries from Australia to Ukraine. Whether he did this for economic or other reasons is unknown.
According to the Dutch newspaper AD, Jonathan M. says he is the biological father of 550 children worldwide.
Ties van der Meer, President of the Donorkind Foundation, said that they have decided to take action against the Dutch sperm donor.
Van der Meer explained to public broadcaster NOS the reasoning for the lawsuit:
“National governments are doing nothing about this person. It has a worldwide reach via the Internet and even does business with large internationally operating sperm banks.”
People who have children through the foundation and donated sperm are worried about the risk of incest or consanguineous marriage.
Van der Meer said: “It is dangerous not only biologically, but also mentally, for blood relatives to have intercourse with each other unknowingly. You will have hundreds of half-brothers and half-sisters. You can never have a healthy communication with them,” he said.
Lawyer Mark de Hek emphasized that the Dutch sperm donor acted illegally and said, “This behavior is dangerous for the health and spiritual development of the donor children. The donor is acting illegally by giving priority to the reproductive impulse.”
Saying that he is currently in Kenya, Jonathan M. did not respond to questions from the Dutch media.