Dutch fertitlity doctor ‘has 49 children’

A Dutch fertility doctor who used his own sperm to father 49 children, without telling their mothers he was the donor, may have even more children.

The case of Dr. Jan Karbaat, who died in 2017, has riveted the Netherlands, due to its mix of unethical medical behavior, privacy concerns, DNA testing, legal wrangling and the rights of children to know who their parents are.

Ties van der Meer of the Dutch Donor Child Foundation said yesterday that three more people contacted him over the weekend because they suspect they may also have been conceived using Karbatt’s sperm.

DNA tests revealed last week that Karbaat was the biological father of 49 children. Most of them are now adults.

The doctor died before a legal battle began to check whether he was indeed the biological father of children born after their parents underwent treatment at his clinic. Until 2004, people who donated sperm or eggs could do so anonymously.