Following the release of The Man With 1000 Kids on Netflix, an international sperm bank is facing angry messages from viewers.
At the center of the new true crime docu-series is Jonathan Meijer, a man who has fathered hundreds of children across the globe.
As well as Meijer and other mass donors including Kyle Gordy, The Man With 1000 Kids looks at the wider issue of the lack of regulation in the global donation industry.
One of the biggest concerns relates to the risk of nintentional incest amongst half-siblings. But despite being banned from donating in his home country, the Netherlands, Meijer is still able to donate to international sperm banks.
Australian couple Kate and Laura, whose child was fathered by Meijer, appear in the Netflix doc to describe how they met him via Cryos International – the world’s largest sperm bank that distributes to more than 100 countries.
The prolific sperm bank, which was founded in Denmark, is now receiving angry messages from Netflix viewers on its social media channels.
In the comments section of an Instagram post shared by Cyros last week, one wrote, “Why not open your data to lawyers and Netflix? Not being open does not help!”
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Another said, “After watching The Man With 1000 Kids documentary, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find a trustworthy donor place.”
On a separate post, a third added, “Stop withholding information! Give the files to the mums and the lawyers.” And a fourth asked, “Have you guys closed the doors already?”
In the new docu-series, fertility fraud expert Eve Wiley explains, “So with Jonathan and Cryos International, he’s going to Copenhagen once a month for four days for four years.
“That’s roughly 200 donations, and you can get about 15 straws of sperm per ejaculation. If every straw makes a baby, that could be 3,000 potential children.”
Cryos responded to Netflix, claiming that Jonathan’s number of donations to Cryos could not result in 3,000 children, and “Cryos has a strict stock management system that aims for the outcome of a maximum of 25-30 families worldwide per donor.”
The Man With 1000 Kids is streaming on Netflix now. For more true crime, find out who Smegma is in relation to the Sherri Papini case, what Tell Them You Love Me is all about, and where Janie Lynn Ridd is now.