▲Jonathan Jacob Mayer (41) became the father of 550 children through sperm donation. (Source = Jonathan Jacob Meijer YouTube channel capture)
A Dutch man who became the father of as many as 550 people through sperm donation has been sued by a local civic group.
On the 27th (local time), foreign media outlets such as The Times of the UK filed a civil lawsuit against Jonathan Jacob Mayer (41) requesting the suspension of sperm donation by the Donnerkind Foundation, which helps contact brothers and sisters of children born through sperm donation.
Mayer, a musician from The Hague, Netherlands, has been donating sperm since 2007 through donation clinics and the Internet. Mayer has donated his sperm to countries around the world, including Denmark and Ukraine, as well as the Netherlands.
According to the Donnerkind Foundation, at least 550 children have been born with his sperm so far. All 550 children are Mayer’s children.
In 2017, Mayer was also blacklisted by some hospitals in the Netherlands after 102 children were born with sperm donated to 10 infertility clinics.
Currently, the Dutch government requires less than 25 births per donor to reduce the psychological shock of births and prevent inbreeding. However, this is only a non-legally binding recommendation.
In response, the foundation’s lawyer, Marc Dehek, repeatedly asked Mayer to stop donating sperm, but it was not accepted. In the end, the foundation had no choice but to take legal action against Maymer.
In particular, Maymer donated sperm to hospitals in Denmark and Ukraine in addition to the Netherlands to spread her offspring as widely as possible. At the time of donation, he used a pseudonym.
Infertile couples who succeeded in giving birth with the sperm they received from Mayer cannot hide their embarrassment at the news. One victim couple expressed their horror, saying, “I can’t believe I have to explain to my child that I have hundreds of siblings.”
In addition, the victims formed a group and decided to take measures to prevent children who have Mayer as their biological father from dating or marrying in the future.
They asked Mayer not to donate sperm, but Mayer reportedly refused, saying, “I want to help people realize their dream of having children, and I want to see my children around the world.”