A gynecologist in the Netherlands may have fathered at least 16 children through artificial insemination procedures, utilizing his own sperm, according to a report from HLN.be.
The clinic in Arnhem, where the physician previously practiced, commissioned an external investigation near the end of 2024, following the retired doctor’s admission that he had substituted donor material with his own on several occasions during the 1970s and 1980s. This occurred when the intended donor was unavailable, and the patient risked missing her fertile window.
The procedure involved no notification to the prospective parents regarding the substitution, and no formal donor registries were maintained; paperwork merely indicated “artificial insemination by donor” or an anonymous donor.
During questioning, the doctor, now over 80 years old, mentioned 13 offspring he was aware of, but the hospital has confirmed a minimum of 16 instances and suggests the total could be higher. He voluntarily provided DNA samples, facilitating the establishment of biological relationships for families who have since come forward.
Furthermore, the man disclosed that he is a carrier of a hereditary condition, which his patients conceived through him, and their descendants, might have inherited; the specific nature of this diagnosis has not been made public.
The hospital administration condemned the physician’s actions as unacceptable, emphasizing that every child deserves knowledge of their origins, and patients are entitled to trust their doctor.
The clinic has issued an appeal to anyone who underwent treatment with this specialist between the 1970s and 1990s, as well as their children, if they suspect they were conceived with this specific doctor’s involvement as a donor.
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