Jonathan Jacob Meijer

Jonathan Jacob Meijer (born 1981/1982) is a Dutch musician and a sperm donor, who as of 2023 resides in Kenya.^[1] As of April 2023, he is estimated to have fathered between 500 and 600 children.^[2]

Sperm donation

Meijer started giving sperm donations in 2007.^[3]

In 2017, Meijer was banned from donating sperm to Dutch clinics after the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology revealed he was the father of over 100 children in 11 different clinics.^[1][2][4] The Dutch Donor Child Foundation determined that in addition to the 102 father via clinics, at least 80 additional children in the Netherlands were fathered via private arrangements.^[5]

After his Dutch ban, Meijer continued donating to international clinics such as Cryos International, as well as private websites.^[2]

In 2023 a civil lawsuit was lodged against Meijer by the Donorkind Foundation, requesting action by the court due to the fear of unwitting incest amongst the children and due to violating the Dutch limit of 25 donor children.^[1] Meijer's defence stated that he merely wanted to help parents who were unable to conceive,^[6] and that a decision against him would amount to legal castration.^[7] Meijer told the court that at present he only donates to parents who have already fathered a child with him.^[8] In April 2023, a Dutch court ordered Meijer to stop donating sperm and subjected him to a 100,000 Euro fine for each future infraction. In addition Meijer was instructed by the court to request destruction of his semen stored in stock by clinics, unless held in reserve for parents of children conceived by his sperm.^[2] The court determined that Meijer "deliberately misinformed" donation recipients about the number of children he had fathered. The court found that this creates a "huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings" and that it is "sufficiently plausible" that the children will suffer psychological trauma as a result.^[3]

YouTube

Meijer has a YouTube channel with more than 4,500 subscribers in which he posts his music.^[9]

References

1. Hume, Tim (29 March 2023). "Serial Sperm Donor Taken to Court Over Incest Fears After Fathering 550 Children". Vice. from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
2. van Den Berg, Stephanie (28 April 2023). "Dutch court bans father of hundreds from donating sperm". Canberra Times. Reuters. from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
3. McGarvey, Emily (29 April 2023). "Sperm donor who fathered 550 children ordered to stop". BBC. from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
4. "Dutch sperm donor fathers at least 102 children: RTL". Dutch News. 19 August 2017. from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
5. Mroz, Jacqueline (1 February 2021). "The case of the serial sperm donor". The New York Times. from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
6. "Dutch court orders sperm donor to stop after 550 children". Deutsche Welle. 28 April 2023. from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
7. Stroobants, Jean-Pierre (29 April 2023). "Dutch court orders 'Superdonor' to stop donating sperm". Le Monde. from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
8. Ferrer, Isabel (14 April 2023). "Dutch serial sperm donor: 'I am not a mad bull with an urge to procreate'". El Pais. from the original on 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
9. Wen, Lok Jian (29 March 2023). "Dutch serial sperm donor who may have fathered 550 children sued over increasing risk of inbreeding". The Strait Times. from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.

External links

• Jonathan Jacob Meijer on YouTube