Father of 550 children ordered to stop donating sperm over incest, inbreeding fears

A Dutch court has ordered a man who fathered as many as 550 children to stop donating his sperm amid concerns of accidental incest and inbreeding.

In a civil suit brought forth by the Dutch Donor Child Foundation, the organization argued that Jonathan Meijer’s excessive donations violated the right of a private life of his donor children whose romantic relationships were affected by fears of accidental incest.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The man was banned from donating to more clinics and would be issued a fine of $110,000 per infraction.

He was also ordered to write clinics abroad asking them to destroy any of his semen they have in stock.

Under Dutch law, sperm donors are only allowed to produce a maximum of 25 children with 12 mothers, but according to court documents, the man had lied on numerous occasions.

The case first came to light in 2017 and a ban was issued on the 41-year-old then, but Meijer continued to donate his sperm abroad, including to Danish fertility centers where he fathered over 100 children.

Read more:

Study sheds light on impact of COVID-19 on male fertility

IVF ‘error’ could see 26 women carry eggs not fertilized by intended father

Scientists grow human eggs to full maturity in a lab