The Man with 1000 Kids: Is Jonathan Meijer banned from donating?

Netflix is bringing its viewers a new documentary, The Man with 1000 Kids. It's a three-episode docuseries that pieces together the havoc wreaked by a man called Jonathan Meijer across several countries and continents for his sperm donations. The Man with 1000 Kids explores the consequences of his donation, which led to the conception of around 1000 babies across the world.

Jonathan Meijer appeared to be god-sent for many Dutch people who were seeking to be parents through sperm donations. He was tall and conventionally handsome, blessed with thick blond hair, which made him appear attractive and made his profile stand out to those browsing private sperm donation sites looking for potential donors.

According to Meijer, he had only intended to donate sperm to a handful of families, but, with time, it was clear that he was lying to many families.

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The Man with 1000 Kids: Who is Jonathan Meijer?

Jonathan Jacob Meijer is a Dutch musician and YouTuber who was also a sperm donor who had allegedly donated sperm that conceived over 500 children. In his YouTube video, in February 2024, he said that he was inspired to become a sperm donor after a classmate had disclosed his infertility to him.

In October 2023, he explained in a video that he doesn't have a family history of cancer, diabetes or any genetic diseases, which makes him an ideal candidate for sperm donation, and he believes that donating sperm is a kind thing to do.

Jonathan Meijer belongs to a large family and has seven siblings. One of his childhood friends, Patricia, says in The Man with 1000 Kids that as a young adult, Meijer struggled to find his own identity. Another mother in the series described him as having a “God-like complex."

Meijer was regularly donating his sperm in the Netherlands and around the world, and he frequently posted on his YouTube channel, where he talked about various topics ranging from cryptocurrency to raw-meat diet.

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Why was Meijer banned from donating sperm? The Man with 1000 Kids explores details

Jonathan Meijer was accused of lying and deceiving parents to use his sperm donations, to have children conceived all around the world. For doing so, Meijer assumed false identities like Jacob, Ruud, Walter and Maarten to communicate with parents looking for a donor.

Donors like Meijer pose significant risks to the population's health due to the possibility of hundreds of children sharing the same genes. That increases the risk of sexual relationships or marriages between people who may have a common biological ancestor, Meijer in this case.

This threat is most concerning in the Netherlands, where Jonathan Meijer has allegedly made innumerable donations within a small geographical area. A mother, Natalie, said in the documentary The Man with 1000 Kids:

“Children who haven’t been brought up together are more likely to get attracted to each other because they see some familiarities in the face of the sibling."

That feeling of romantic love is also known as the “Luke and Leia complex.”

Meijer continued to lie to donate sperm and refused to stop or inform other parents of his actions. That made parents look for other methods to check him.

Mark de Hek, a lawyer from the Netherlands, was hired by one of the mothers for that, and he decided to take on the case. But the case was being postponed, as Meijer was travelling in Kenya, where he was associating with a group of men like himself who pride themselves on "fathering" many children.

In court, Meijer shocked everyone by suggesting that his children could avoid incest by having a designated symbol on social media which would identify them as having his genetics.

The Dutch court eventually banned Meijer from donating sperm to new parents and gave him a penalty of €100,000 for each violation and he was also required to request sperm banks to destroy his sperm donations.

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Catch the Netflix docuseries The Man with 1000 Kids, which premiered on the streaming platform this July 3, 2024.