Scientist reveals the most disturbing detail about The Man With 1000 Kids

The Man With 1000 Kids discussed the dangers of mass sperm donoring, with a scientist now weighing in on the debate to reveal the most disturbing risk of all. 

Though the Netflix documentary series focuses on Jonathan Meijer, a man who’s fathered hundreds of children across the globe, it delves into a number of other prolific sperm donors such as Kyle Gordy, and the lack of regulation around donating. 

As fertility fraud activist Eve Wiley explains, having hundreds – and potentially thousands – of half-siblings poses a “huge biodiversity concern.”

Now, an expert has weighed in on the issue, describing the most disturbing detail highlighted in the new true crime docu-series: a phenomenon called genetic sexual attraction (GSA).

GSA occurs when separated relatives form an intense romantic connection when they first meet, not knowing that they are related. 

This is a very real risk among Meijer and other mass donors’ children, according to Leslie Pate Mackinnon, who specializes in adopted and donor children.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Mackinnon explained, “This is very real and I have seen families blown apart by it.”

Although there’s been little research into the phenomenon, with some critics doubting its legitimacy, Mackinnon told the outlet she has seen it happen first-hand among some of her patients. 

“The first time two siblings of a sperm donor meet each other, what they are likely to find out is that this person’s a lot like me; they like the same books, they have the same sense of humor,” she continued.

“People get misguided because there is this person who looks just like me and laughs just like me and it’s recognizing their DNA in someone else.”

As well as working with a number of adopted patients who have experienced these intense feelings when meeting their biological relatives for the first time, there have been a number of GSA cases publicized over the years. 

“Those people are having a very normal reaction to a very abnormal situation,” added Mackinnon.

“It’s a confusion they’re trying to make sense of but there’s nothing that makes sense about meeting your mother, your father, or your sister when you’re 40 and you’ve never laid eyes on them.”

As is explored in The Man With 1000 Kids, alongside the psychological damage this could cause those involved, they may go on to have kids together without knowing they’re related, leading to congenital disabilities.

Despite these risks, Meijer maintains that he’s done nothing wrong. “I’ve been a donor for 17 years now, and I thought about it, of course, every day, and it would be a problem if a donor was fully anonymous, because then the child will never have the option to find out,” he told LADbible.

But the issue here is not every donor is open, nor does every parent want their child to have to ask about their partner’s family tree in the future before embarking on a romantic relationship. 

The Man With 1000 Kids is streaming on Netflix now. You can read more about the ‘Lion of Mombasa’ here.