Dutch Sperm Donor Confesses To Fathering 199 Children Across Europe

A Dutch sperm donor has confessed to fathering at least 199 children across Europe after lying repeatedly about the true number to parents.

Simon, a 43-year-old from Groningen in northern Netherlands, sent this startling admission via letter on August 29.

He told recipients that 172 births occurred in the Netherlands while another 11 happened in Belgium and 15 took place in Germany. One more woman is currently pregnant with his child.

This new figure dwarfs the previous count of just 121 known conceptions using his donations.

The message arrived late Saturday through a group chat holding over 35 parents, though Dutch current affairs show Nieuwsuur found at least one mother who never received it and remains unaware of the revised total.

Simon admitted he was not always open about the sheer scale of his giving.

He wrote that parents were given an incomplete or distorted picture because he believed he was doing the right thing to help people. The appreciation and intense happiness he saw from them drove him forward as his only motivation. Now he knows he seriously let them down.

He added that he should have tallied the donations much earlier, even for himself. The total turned out higher than he had thought, hoped for, or wanted.

The man has operated under several names including Jesse, Johan, Daan, Sam, and Maarten over the years. He donated through multiple sperm banks but mostly contacted prospective parents online to arrange private transactions outside fertility clinics.

Several mothers previously accused Simon of lying about his output count and demanded he stop donating immediately. They also alleged he sent sexually suggestive messages to women seeking his help.

The Dutch Ministry of Health reportedly knew as early as August 2017 that Simon was a prolific donor but took no action at the time. Two years later, he was appointed to a committee evaluating Dutch donor legislation on behalf of the government.

Belgium's Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products has now opened an investigation to determine if Simon donated through Belgian fertility clinics or privately.

Simon says he has stopped all forms of sperm donation. He also intends to seek professional help so he can deal with the situation in future in a responsible and proper way, in the interests of the children.

This disclosure follows fellow Dutch donor Jonathan Jacob Meijer becoming notorious for fathering hundreds of children globally through donations to clinics, sperm banks, and private recipients.

Mr Meijer was estimated to have fathered at least 550 children and potentially more than 1,000 before a Dutch court banned him in 2023 from donating sperm to any new recipients.

The Hague court also ordered him not to advertise his services or contact prospective parents seeking sperm donations while requiring sperm banks to destroy stored samples except where they were being retained for existing families wanting a biological sibling. His case later became the subject of the Netflix documentary series The Man with 1000 Kids.