A serial sperm donor's story is being brought back into the spotlight, as mothers he allegedly lied to tell their side in a new Netflix series.
The three-part documentary, called The Man with 1,000 Kids, focuses on Jonathan Meijer, who gained infamy when it emerged he had potentially fathered over 500 children through his sperm bank donations.
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The Dutchman was eventually banned from making any more donations when the families affected took action.
Meijer told Newsweek via email on Wednesday that he never lied to those he say he helped, but that he decided not to take part in the show.
He said he declined to take part in Netflix's documentary and therefore had not had a chance to see it yet.
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"Already the title is super misleading. Deceptive," Meijer said. "No surprise to anybody, Netflix is like any other corporation, company, focused on making money."
Meijer told Newsweek that those taking part in the show were a small minority who had sought to discredit him.
"This little group of bullies are in no way a representation of the wonderful parents that I have helped worldwide and are extremely grateful for my help," Meijer said.
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Donorkind, the organization which has worked with some of the families, is looking forward to the upcoming documentary.
"We hope it will show the dangers of the unregulated world wide fertility industry that creates these kinds of mass donors," Donorkind told Newsweek. We need awareness with people who are thinking about using a donor and governments to step in to set regulations and protect donor-conceived children."
Who is Jonathan Meijer?
Meijer is a Dutch musician in his early 40s, described as being tall, with blue eyes and long curly hair.
When he first began donating, he told families he was only making a small number of donations, but it later emerged that he had lied to them, and the number was far greater.
In 2017, it was revealed that he had fathered 102 children through his donations in The Netherlands alone and he was banned from making further attempts in his home country.
That didn't stop him, however, and he reportedly traveled to other countries, where he donated sperm at other clinics.
In a video released in late 2023, Meijer said he believed he spent 50,000 hours as a donor for at least 15 years.
He claimed that he had been helping families to realize their dreams, spending many hours a day writing ads for families, creating profiles and getting in touch with those who were interested, as well as the act of donating.
Meijer said he had never approached anybody by himself.
Why was Jonathan Meijer banned from donating?
Mothers with blue-eyed, blond-haired babies started meeting online, realizing their children shared a father, and it became clear that Meijer had helped far more families than he had claimed to.
Some formed a group intent on putting a stop to the serial sperm donor, saying they were worried about the consequences – namely, potential incest.
The families said they were worried that Meijer's offspring would end up forming romantic relationships if they did not realize they shared a dad.
"If I had known he had already fathered more than 100 children I would never have chosen him. If I think about the consequences this could have for my child I am sick to my stomach," one mother, Eva, told Cosmopolitan.
"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."
It was estimated that Meijer had fathered between 500 and 600 children, but the number could be as high as 800.
In early 2023, Meijer was banned from donating to any more clinics and told that if he breached the order, he could be fined 100,000 euros each time.
He was also told to write to clinics to tell them to destroy any samples of his sem*n they still had in storage, Reuters reported.
Meijer told Newsweek that he had not lied or misled parents.
"I have followed the guidelines of all the big commercial fertility and sperm banks," he said in his email. "They also never give away the information about the amount of conceived children with the donor sperm. They also send the sem*n worldwide to multiple countries until the max is reached."
Where is Jonathan Meijer now?
As of his last YouTube video, Meijer was on a beach. He has made videos in various countries over the past few months, after leaving The Netherlands, including Italy and Tanzania.
Meijer said he had not fathered 1,000 children and he was simply a sperm donor. In May, he posted a video saying he had a message for his children.
In the clip, he said he had been forced to cut off contact with some of the families he had donated to, following the court case.
"I never charged money, I never intended on having sex, I am seeing 75% of the children and families regularly and doing everything for my donor children that they feel loved, wanted in my life and that they are unique human beings and souls," Meijer added in his email to Newsweek Wednesday.
The Netflix series will premier on July 3.
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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