Netherlands fertility doctor used own sperm to father 21 children
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A gynaecologist in the Netherlands conceived 21 children and potentially dozens more using his own sperm after prospective parents turned to him for fertility treatment, an investigation has discovered.
Jos Beek worked at Elisabeth hospital in Leiderdorp, now part of Alrijne hospital, between 1973 and 1998. He died in 2019.
The couples being treated by Beek had expected to be the beneficiaries of samples from anonymous sperm donors. Alrijne hospital said it did not believe Beek had told anyone the truth
The scandal emerged after an organisation that traces biological parents for those born using anonymous donations found a match between Beek’s DNA and 21 children whose mothers had received treatment at his clinic between 1973 and 1986.
The group, Fiom, contacted Alrijne hospital in June last year. The hospital then commissioned an independent committee to investigate at the beginning of January.
Peter Jue, a member of the board of directors at Alrijne hospital, said he could not discount the possibility that Beek was the biological father of many more children after treating their mothers.
Jue said: “We are very shocked by this. This, of course, has a significant impact on the parents and children involved.
“We immediately entered into a conversation with the children and parents who wanted to, to listen and to promise our cooperation. We recognise the situation they have found themselves in and want to do as much as possible to get information on the table. The way this doctor acted at the time is unacceptable.”
Hospital records from the period no longer exist, so a general appeal has been made for people to come forward.
Beek is the third fertility doctor in the Netherlands found to have used their own sperm during fertility treatment.
In October 2020, DNA tests revealed that gynaecologist Jan Wildschut, who died in 2009, was the biological father of 17 children. The previous year it was discovered that doctor Jan Karbaat had used his own sperm in the conception of 49 children with unknowing patients.
Jue said the protocols of the 1970s and 80s, when fertility treatment was in its infancy, did not bear any relation to those of today.
In a statement, the hospital said: “It seems that this doctor donated his own sperm and used it to inseminate intended mothers who were expecting sperm anonymously.
“In the years that this doctor was working, there were hardly any regulations regarding fertility programmes. The field was still developing.
“We would like to emphasise that the situation is now completely different. We use national protocols and work in a consistent and careful manner. Our working method is regularly checked through audits.”
Under a law that came into force in 2004, people in the Netherlands have the right to know the identity of their biological parents once they reach the age of 16
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