Lawsuit to stop sperm donor from donating; Fathered 550 children, foundation says

The court in The Hauge will handle a case on Thursday against a sperm donor who allegedly fathered hundreds of children worldwide. Stichting Donorkind and one of the mothers filed the lawsuit, asking the court to ban the 41-year-old man from donating any more sperm, RTL Nieuws reports.

The lawsuit revolves around 41-year-old Johnathan. According to Stichting Donorkind, he fathered at least 550 children worldwide. The man donated sperm to 11 Dutch clinics and several others abroad. He also sought contact with prospective parents via online platforms and social media. According to the foundation, he misleads them by saying that he has only fathered a few donor children.

In 2017, the Dutch Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NVOG) received a report that a donor was offering himself as a private donor. At the time, the NVOG reported that he had already fathered 102 children at Dutch clinics. After this, the NVOG informed all Dutch fertility clinics about Johnathan and his activities.

Joyce has two children fathered by Johnathan. She and her husband found him through a platform. “Two and a half years ago, I googled his name,” she told RTL Nieuws. “An article from The New York Times came up. I was shocked.” The article said that Johnathan had fathered hundreds of children worldwide, so Joyce’s kids had hundreds of siblings. “He told us that he would help a maximum of ten families.”

Joyce’s children sometimes meet up with their siblings in the Netherlands. “Then you see that they really click and find recognition in each other,” she said. “That’s nice for now, but worrying for later.” Joyce also has contact with Australian and German parents. “They are everywhere. Also in Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania.”

Joyce will attend the court case today.

RTL asked Johnathan for a response but heard through his lawyer that he did not want to.

In the Netherlands, donors may father a maximum of 25 children with up to 12 women. Research showed that these numbers pose no increased risk of relationships between blood relatives. Several cases over the past years, including fertility doctors using their own sperm to father children, have shown that these norms weren't always adhered to.