Sperm Donors Fathered More Than 25 Children Each, Netherlands Data Reveals
Somewhere in the Netherlands, there are men who have unknowingly fathered dozens of children through sperm donation. At least one man has sired up to 125 children.
Those are the startling conclusions of a national registry to track the number of sperm donors in the Netherlands. Initial data from the registry, released this week, identified 85 mass donors: men to whom more than 25 descendants can be traced.
The data revealed that children born via artificial insemination may have a larger number of half-siblings than the Dutch government previously thought, raising concerns about consanguinity and the risk of genetic anomalies, as those children eventually seek partners and have children of their own.
In a letter submitted to the Dutch Parliament on Monday, Vincent Karremans, the minister for youth, prevention and sport, said that poor oversight and record-keeping by fertility clinics had led to mass donation, sometimes resulting in more than 25 children per donor, without the donor's knowledge. A new law, passed on April 1, requires more careful tracking of how sperm donations are used.
'I deeply regret that these excesses have been discovered,' Mr. Karremans said, offering support to the parents who were clients of those clinics, whose children may have dozens of half-siblings. Vincent Karremans, the Dutch minister for youth, prevention and sport, said that poor oversight and record-keeping by fertility clinics had led to mass sperm donation. Credit... Tobias Kleuver/EPA, via Shutterstock
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