Jonathan Jacob Meijer (born 19 May 1981) is a sperm donor, born in the Netherlands.[1] As of April 2023, a Dutch court estimated that Meijer had fathered between 500 and 600 children,[2] and may have fathered up to 1,000 children in total across several continents.[3]
Sperm donation
editMeijer started giving sperm donations in 2007.[4]
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][5] The Dutch Donor Child Foundation determined that in addition to the 102 fathered via clinics, at least 80 additional children in the Netherlands were fathered via private arrangements.[6]
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 court action due to fears of unintentional 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,[7] and that a decision against him would amount to legal castration.[8] Meijer told the court that at present he only donates to parents who have already fathered a child with him.[9] 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 could suffer negative psychosocial consequences as a result.[4]
On 2 July 2023, in an exclusive interview with the Brazilian weekly television news program Fantástico, Meijer admitted to tricking women who wanted to get pregnant. He also acknowledged that he lied to the families.[10][11]
In July 2024, Netflix released a three-episode documentary series about Meijer, entitled The Man with 1,000 Kids.[12] On July 5, Meijer uploaded a YouTube video admitting he watched the first part of the Netflix docuseries. He stated he had filed a slander report about claims he swapped or mixed sperm with another donor, Leon.[13]
On 3 September 2024, in an interview with the talk show "Eva" from the NPO 1 broadcaster in the Netherlands, Meijer said that he has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, the developer of the program. "Five hundred and fifty. That's the number I know for sure. Anything above that is just speculation," Meijer said, referring to the number of children he has fathered from sperm donations. As the name of the Netflix series suggests, "The Man with a Thousand Children" presents another version of the case. The accounts presented there claim that Meijer fathered at least 1,000 babies and suggest that the number could be as high as 3,000.[14]
YouTube
editMeijer has a YouTube channel in which he posts his music as well as spiritual and lifestyle vlogs.[15] The channel held 4,500 subscribers[15] in March 2023 and most recently had 24,500 subscribers[1] as of November 2024 following the Netflix docuseries.
References
edit- ^ a b c Hume, Tim (29 March 2023). "Serial Sperm Donor Taken to Court Over Incest Fears After Fathering more than 1000 Children worldwide". Vice. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d van Den Berg, Stephanie (28 April 2023). "Dutch court bans father of hundreds from donating sperm". Canberra Times. Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ McIntosh, Steven (2024-07-03). "Sperm donor says Netflix series is misleading". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
- ^ a b McGarvey, Emily (29 April 2023). "Sperm donor who fathered 550 children ordered to stop". BBC. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "Dutch sperm donor fathers at least 102 children: RTL". Dutch News. 19 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ Mroz, Jacqueline (1 February 2021). "The case of the serial sperm donor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Dutch court orders sperm donor to stop after 550 children". Deutsche Welle. 28 April 2023. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Stroobants, Jean-Pierre (29 April 2023). "Dutch court orders 'Superdonor' to stop donating sperm". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Ferrer, Isabel (14 April 2023). "Dutch serial sperm donor: 'I am not a mad bull with an urge to procreate'". El Pais. Archived from the original on 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
- ^ "Alimentação exótica e gosto por mostrar os hábitos na web: o holandês doador de esperma que admitiu ter enganado mulheres". G1. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Holandês doador de esperma que diz ter mais de 500 filhos admite ter enganado mulheres que queriam engravidar". G1. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Sager, Jessica (July 3, 2024). "Who Is 'The Man With 1,000 Kids'? All About Serial Sperm Donor Jonathan Meijer at Center of New Netflix Series". People. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ Mercuri, Monica. "Jonathan Jacob Meijer Threatens To Sue Netflix For 'The Man With 1000 Kids'". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Doador de esperma que inspirou 'O Homem Com Mil Filhos' diz que processou Netflix por série". G1 (in Portuguese). 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ a b Wen, Lok Jian (29 March 2023). "Dutch serial sperm donor who may have fathered 550 children sued over increasing risk of inbreeding". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.