Jonathan Jacob Meijer is known to have fathered more than 500 children around the world. Shockingly, a new documentary suggests the real number might be even higher.
The nearly unbelievable story of serial sperm donor Meijer is the subject of The Man with 1000 Kids, now streaming on Netflix. The three-part docuseries explores how Meijer became one of the most prolific progenitors in the world, donating sperm to clinics and hopeful parents across multiple countries.
For his part, Meijer denies having fathered that many children and calls the title “sensationalized.” Still, his deceitful methods eventually drew the ire of the families he helped and sparked questions about the legal and moral ramifications of his widespread parenthood.
Jonathan Meijer became a sperm donor in his 20s
Now in his early 40s, Meijer comes from a big family in the Netherlands. He is one of eight siblings, according to The Mirror. Meijer has worked as a civics teacher, a mail carrier, and a cryptocurrency consultant. He is also a social media personality, currently operating a YouTube channel under the name Jonathan Jacob Meijer.
In a video posted to his channel in February, Meijer revealed while he was studying to become a teacher, a classmate shared his infertility struggles. That prompted Meijer to begin researching sperm donation around age 24 or 25. “These men, they do something without needing something in return. They spent their time for others. That, to me, felt very noble,” Meijer said.
By 2007, Meijer had registered as a sperm donor at 11 Dutch clinics and the international sperm bank Cryos in Denmark. He also connected directly with prospective parents through websites matching donors and clients, such as Desire for a Child.
However, Meijer often resorted to dubious tactics. According to The New York Times, court records showed he lied to clinics when registering, claiming he hadn’t donated elsewhere and wasn’t planning to in the future.
According to The Daily Mail, Meijer tried to boost his desirability as a donor by comparing his physical resemblance to that of Hollywood actors Brad Pitt and Chris Hemsworth in his online profiles. Per the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Dutch newspaper The Algemeen Dagblad has reported Meijer also used pseudonyms on donor sites, though he denied this in 2021.
Meijer has claimed he made his donations for free but sometimes received money or gifts, such as a camera and plane tickets, from families he spoke to directly online.
His serial donations violated Dutch health guidelines
Meijer’s frequent sperm donations first drew attention in 2017, when it was discovered he had violated Dutch medical guidelines by fathering 102 children across 11 different clinics. Furthermore, the Dutch Donor Child Foundation determined Meijer had fathered at least 80 additional children in the Netherlands through private arrangements, according to The New York Times.
Sperm donors aren’t allowed to father more than 25 children or impregnate more than 12 women in order to prevent accidental inbreeding or incest, as well as limit harmful psychological effects for the children involved. While he hadn’t violated criminal law, the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology banned Meijer from donating to sperm banks within the country.
Still, his lineage kept growing. Meijer continued to provide samples abroad, including to Cryos and another clinic in Ukraine, as well as connect with prospective parents directly. As of 2023, he is known to have children in Germany, Belgium, Argentina, and Australia.
One mother sued Meijer in an effort to stop him
Families with children fathered by Meijer began to express concern and anger over his deception. According to The Mirror, more than 150 mothers joined a Facebook support group. Some people worried their children might meet and accidentally begin a relationship.
In March 2023, the mother of one of Meijer’s children put forward a civil lawsuit against Meijer in partnership with The Donorkind Foundation, a Dutch organization which helps children born via sperm donations discover their origins. The suit sought to prevent Meijer from continuing to donate sperm to additional parents. Donorkind estimated that Meijer had fathered up to 550 children by this time.
“If I had known he had already fathered more than 100 children, I would never have chosen this donor,” said the mother, identified only as Eva. “When I think about the consequences this could have for my child, I am sick to my stomach. Going to court is the only way to protect my child.”
That April, a Dutch court in The Hague ordered Meijer to cease donations, ruling that he had lied about the number of children he fathered and his intentions to donate more sperm. Any violation carried a fine of 100,000 euros, or $166,800. The court also commanded Meijer to contact overseas clinics in order to instruct them to destroy any of his sperm in storage.
Despite the verdict, Meijer is still capable of fathering more children because of an exception allowing him to provide samples to families who have already used Meijer’s sperm.
Meijer says the Netflix docuseries is “sensationalized and misleading”
Meijer told German media he hopes to start a family of his own with five children, according to a June 2023 article in The Mirror. “I want to do something meaningful with my life,” Meijer said. “Yes, I lied to the women. That was wrong. I wanted to help them.”
Meijer has remained active on his YouTube channel and recently offered scathing criticism of The Man with 1000 Kids and Netflix. In a video posted from Italy on June 24, Meijer said he declined to participate in the project and doesn’t know much about it, other than its focus on his history as a sperm donor. He explained he was initially repelled by the documentary’s working title, Fertility Fraudster, and called the finalized title “sensationalized and misleading.”
Meijer insisted he only has knowledge of his connection to 550 children. “So, somehow, they managed to magically add 450 children to my record. And I’m curious what they base it on,” he said.
Meijer also prefers to not share his story with the media, which he says doesn’t have integrity. “They choose for money, they choose for views, they choose for political reasons,” Meijer said.
Stream The Man with 1000 Kids Now
According to Netflix, the three-part docuseries attempts to “piece together the havoc wreaked by Meijer.” It features interviews with parents of Meijer’s children, as well as a lawyer, fertility activist, and medical professional trying to combat his serial practices.
“Speaking to lots of different parents that have met him and people that know him well, it seems like it almost became an addiction for him,” director Josh Allott said.
The Man with 1000 Kids is now streaming on Netflix.
Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
![jojo siwa](https://cdn.statically.io/img/hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/jojo-siwa-gettyimages-1235391979.jpg?crop=1.00xw:1.00xh;0,0&resize=360:* "ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" - Season 30 - PortraitsDANCING WITH THE STARS - ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" stars JoJo Siwa. (Maarten de Boer/ABC via Getty Images)")
