Leiden University’s teaching hospital LUMC has now confirmed that its former sperm bank was beset by administrative problems and that 440 people have more than the legally permitted 25 half brothers and sisters.

In total, the research shows sperm from nine donors was used more than the agreed 25 times and that one man has fathered 86 children. Some brothers and sisters, it has also transpired, have different fathers.  

The problems first emerged earlier this year, and now the LUMC says it has been unable to trade the donor father of 102 children. The hospital also says it is aware of 1,173 children born using its services. In total 754 women used sperm from 115 different donors to conceive.

The hospital’s sperm back operated from 1977 to 2006.

We realise the impact of this report on everyone involved, said board member Martin Schalij. “We take full responsibility and are trying to be as open and give as much clarity as possible.”

Scandals

The LUMC case is the latest in a series of scandals concerning administrative chaos and unauthorised use of sperm. In January, a former lab worker at a Leiden fertility clinic was found to have fathered 11 children illegally. He was also found to have a hereditary disease.

In 2022 the Donorkind foundation said it had identified at least 10 doctors who had illegally used their own sperm to create children in the Netherlands.

Among the high-profile cases involving fertility specialists are that of Jan Karbaat, who fathered 81 children at the last count, Jan Wildschut who fathered at least 47, and Jos Beek who has at least 21.

In April last year, Dutchman Jonathan Jacob Meijer, who is thought to have fathered hundreds of children via sperm donation, was ordered by judges to stop the practice immediately. He was the subject of a recent Netflix series.