Episode description
Episode description
A lesson every kid needs to learn is how to share. Little ones usually want everything for themselves, but as we grow and mature, we learn that sharing is caring. But there are some who have perhaps taken sharing too far.
Sperm donation. It’s a massive industry, helping hundreds of thousands of families enter into the joy of parenthood. Whether it's for altruistic reasons, the inherent desire to spread their wild oats, or just to earn some quick cash (2 minutes is all it takes), many men choose to donate.
But for whatever reason, some men seem to like living that donor lifestyle a little too much, popping off as much as they can to germinate their genes far and wide. However, the consequences of rampant sperm donation can lead to unexpected and troubling encounters, especially when donors father multiple children who may unknowingly swipe right on their sibling. This happened to the offspring of a Dutch donor known as “Louis”, who was suspected of having 200 offspring, some of whom encountered each other on Tinder.
Imagine this scenario: British twins separated at birth, adopted into different families, and then, unbeknownst to them, they got married. To each other. It might sound like the plot of a daytime soap opera, but it actually happened.
Of course, there are rules around how much sperm one man can donate. But the rules vary from country to country and they’re not very well enforced. And for the eager beavers out there, there are ways around regulations that might impede the narcissistic spread of their seed.
For one thing, they could become a fertility specialist like Dr. Jan Karbaat, who swapped out the juice cups and fathered at least 68 children, violating Dutch rules.
There are also private donation clinics that not only pay a little more but just take your word for it that you’re not donating anywhere else.
But the mega sperm donor award goes to Jonathan Meijer, who didn’t seem to care for regulations and is believed to have fathered hundreds of children through sperm donation. His actions came to light when the Dutch Donor Child Foundation filed a lawsuit against him for increasing the risk of accidental incest.
After being blacklisted from donating in the Netherlands (he lightened his load in 11 clinics), Meijer took on a nomadic donor life, donating sperm in multiple countries and privately over the internet, often using assumed or fake names to bypass restrictions. He has confirmed children in Australia, Italy, Serbia, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Romania, Denmark, Sweden, Mexico, and the USA.
Meijer saw his donations as acts of love. He was, after all, a blonde musical Viking.
So what’s stopping more of these mini Meijers from hooking up with each other?
And would you buy a cup of juice from a random person at a train station?
SOURCES:
- Sperm Donor Who Fathered About 550 Children Faces Lawsuit for Increasing Risk of Accidental Incest | Complex by JOSE MARTINEZ Mar 31, 2023
- The Case of the Serial Sperm Donor - The New York Times By Jacqueline Mroz Feb 1, 2021
- Unknowing twins married, lawmaker says - CNN.com
- I fathered 800 children, claims sperm donor - BBC News By Natalie Morton & Sarah Bell 13 January 2016
- Did a pair of twins really get married by mistake? | Family | The Guardian By Jon Henley Jan 15 2008
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