NETHERLANDS – A Dutch fertility doctor accused of using his own sperm to inseminate patients without their consent has been confirmed father of 49 children.
DNA tests revealed Jan Karbaat, who died two years ago, impregnated their mothers at his clinic in Bijdorp, near Rotterdam.
The results were confirmed on Friday after judges allowed their release.
One of the children, named Joey, said he could “finally close the chapter” now he knew the doctor was his father.
“After a search of 11 years I can continue my life. I am glad that I finally have clarity,” he told Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS).
Tim Bueters, a lawyer who represented the 49 children, said he was pleased about the outcome of the case after years of uncertainty.
“It means that there is finally clarity for the children who are matched,” he told NOS.
The doctor was first taken to court in 2017 by a group of donor children and their parents over suspicions they were related.
One of the cases involved a donor child who physically resembled the doctor, the court heard.
Judges ruled in 2017 that DNA tests could be carried out but said the results must be sealed pending the outcome of further court cases, Dutch media reported.
In February this year, Rotterdam district court ruled that the results of the tests could finally be revealed.
They substantiate “serious suspicions that Mr. Karbaat used his own sperm in the clinic,” a statement on the website of legal firm Rex Advocate says.
The doctor called himself “a pioneer in the field of fertilization.”
His clinic was closed in 2009 amid allegations that he falsified data and exceeded the permitted number of six children per donor. (BBC)
