Jonathan Jacob Meijer, a 41-year-old Dutch man who is a sperm donor, is facing legal trouble for what was considered a ‘good deed.’ He is believed to have fathered 550 children, and a civil lawsuit has been filed against him by the Donorkind Foundation, a Dutch organization that advocates for donor children. The purpose of sperm donation is to help women who cannot conceive due to a lack of a male partner, male infertility, or other reasons.
Meijer, a musician from The Hague who now resides in Kenya, is being sued for increasing the risk of accidental incest, which is considered a violation of existing rules in the Netherlands and many other countries. The Donorkind Foundation wants the court to take action against Meijer’s excessive donation and identify which clinics he donated to in order to destroy his samples stored there. However, the organization noted that an exception can be made for samples stored by women who had Meijer’s child and may want a genetic sibling in the future.
According to lawyer Mark de Hek, as quoted by the Donorkind Foundation, Meijer’s behavior is dangerous for the mental well-being and health of donor children, and he is acting unlawfully by favoring his reproductive drive. Additionally, he is violating agreements with clinics and prospective parents who trusted his promise that he would father a maximum of 25 children.
Ties van der Meer, the chair of the Donorkind Foundation, stated in a VICE article that Meijer is believed to have fathered at least 550 children using at least 13 clinics worldwide. Meijer is reportedly using donation sites and social media to approach people wishing to conceive. Van der Meer mentioned that the organization is taking action against Meijer because the national government is doing nothing and that he has a global reach through the internet and does business with large international sperm banks.
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