The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) and the professional association of Dutch gynecologists (NVOG) knew as early as 2017 that sperm donor Simon from Groningen was a “mass donor,” the two bodies acknowledged to Nieuwsuur. Simon (43) has been active as a sperm donor for 15 years and says he sired 199 children. Research by a group of affected mothers has identified 121 children.

In 2017, the IGJ and NVOG discussed Simon extensively with the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports, but went no further than that. They did not inform the involved parents, and Simon continued donating sperm for nearly a decade.

The Ministry already acknowledged to Nieuwsuur that it knew about Simon since 2017. The Inspectorate initially denied it.

“Incomprehensible,” responded Ties van der Meer of Stichting Donorkind, a foundation that advocates for children conceived through sperm donation. “For ten years, the Ministry, the Inspectorate, and the NVOG allowed the harm caused to parents and children – both through private arrangements and clinics – to escalate,” she said to Nieuwsuur. “Right now, it seems as though the rights of mothers and donor-conceived children are less important than the rights of a man like that.”

The IGJ, NVOG, and Ministry’s discussions about Simon in 2017 followed shortly after the NVOG had publicly warned about two other mass donors. Following a third report regarding a donor siring children through multiple clinics, the Ministry recommended a major investigation. However, Edith Schippers, the outgoing Health Minister at the time, decided against it. According to her, there was no legal basis for linking data from all fertility clinics to identify mass donors.

And so Simon could continue donating sperm. He even ended up serving on a committee evaluating the donor legislation in 2019. On that committee, he advocated for scrapping the limit of 25 children per donor.

Simon connected with prospective mothers online and supplied them with sperm privately. He also sired children through seven clinics, where women took him as their own donor. He also donated sperm at UMCG in Groningen and Rijnstate in Arnhem.

The NVOG told Nieuwsuur that the clinics must inform the mothers involved that Simon is a mass donor. Rijnstate and UMCG would not tell Nieuwsuur whether they intended to inform the women involved.

Coalition parties D66, VVD, and CDA and opposition party PRO have asked for clarification from Public Health Minister Sophie Hermans (VVD). PRO MP Lisa Vliegenthart submitted parliamentary questions along with the VVD. She advocates for a support center for the children Simon has sired.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare, and Sports told Nieuwsuur that there is no need for such a support center and declined to answer further questions.