Yahoo Lifestyle The True Story of Unlawful Sperm Donor Jonathan Meijer
The Netflix documentary The Man With 1,000 Kids tells the story of Jonathan Meijer, a Dutch YouTuber and musician who's donated sperm that was used to conceive at least 550 children (a number he confirmed himself on YouTube).
It's unclear why Meijer became such a prolific donor or what his goals were when he began circumventing clinic rules and lying to the women to whom he donated his sperm. In a video shared to his YouTube channel, he confirmed that he did not participate in the Netflix documentary and insisted that he was merely working to "help" people.
"I want to talk freely, I want to have [a say] in my own story," he said. "I've seen the trailer, somebody sent it to me because I don't watch Netflix. I don't have Netflix, I think it's evil ... I live in nature, nature is important to me, not my story, something artificial. I help people, that's it. But I'm more sad that they decided to change the lives of all my donor children ... It's not right to sensationalize."
Keep reading for more insight into the true story of unlawful sperm donor Jonathan Meijer.
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Who is Jonathan Meijer?
Meijer is a Dutch YouTuber and sperm donor who is believed to have fathered somewhere around 550 children.
What was Jonathan Meijer accused of?
Meijer has been accused of tricking women around the world into accepting his sperm donations—both in person and at clinics—by failing to disclose to them how many donations he had made. He first began donating sperm in the Netherlands in 2007. Though laws in the country restrict men to 25 donations, Meijer continued to donate sperm for a decade. He was banned from donating sperm in the Netherlands in 2017, after it was revealed that he had fathered at least 100 children.
Meijer has also been accused of traveling outside the Netherlands to donate sperm, and of using fake names at different clinics to exceed the donor limits. Meijer allegedly joined Facebook groups for women who suffer from infertility or whose fertility is limited and made arrangements to donate privately, too.
How many kids has Jonathan Meijer fathered?
The Mirror reported that Meijer's sperm has been used to conceive at least 550 children (a number he corroborates in this video).
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Has Jonathan Meijer been arrested?
Meijer has not been arrested. In April 2023 a court forbid him from donating any more sperm in the Netherlands and to let clinics around the world that have samples from him know that those samples need to be destroyed, although parents who previously conceived children with Meijer's sperm will be allowed to conceive more children from his donations if they so wish. If Meijer is found donating additional sperm, he will be fined up to £88,000 ($111,613.04) per donation.
The court order came about after a civil case was brought against Meijer in April 2023. The woman at the center of that case, Eva, had a child using his sperm in 2018. "If I had known he had already fathered more than 100 children I would never have chosen him," she said (via Daily Mail). "If I think about the consequences this could have for my child I am sick to my stomach."
"Many mothers have told him he needs to stop, but nothing helps. So going to court is the only option I have to protect my child," Eva added.
Where is Jonathan Meijer now?
Meijer's YouTube account indicates he is traveling the world, although his exact location is not clear.
