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Dutch gynecologist used his sperm in more than 17 fertility treatments
The outcome of the procedures he performed between 1973 and 1986 is still unknown.
A hospital in Leiden, where Jos Beek, a Dutch gynecologist who performed 21 fertility treatments using his sperm, worked, was in charge of confirming the information, having evidence of the third case of this man recognized in the Netherlands. Beek passed away in 2019.
In 2021, an organization specializing in parenting issues approached the Alrijne center, called "Elizabeth de Leiderdorp Hospital" 25 years ago, when the gynecologist was practicing.
The organization requested information from the father of 21 children who were looking for their father. DNA tests showed that they all had the same parent.
The Hospital located in the city of Leiden reported that the doctor apparently donated his own semen and used it to perform the insemination procedure on mothers who were expecting sperm anonymously.
However, there is no information that children and his parents were aware of this.
Until now, the center does not have the number of patients that the gynecologist attended at that time and the files have been destroyed. However, the option that their descendants will be discovered is not ruled out.
For this reason, a call was made to all the doctor's patients to get in direct contact with the hospital.
Peter Jue, one of the members of the board of directors of the center, assured that the doctor acted in an unacceptable way at that time, and regrets the impact of the children and parents involved.
Investigations of similar cases
At the beginning of January, the center appointed an independent special investigation team for this situation and thus be able to recover the information of the time. Results are expected next summer.
During Beek's years as a gynecologist, the topic of fertility programs was developing, according to the hospital. Now, there are certain national protocols and more careful and consistent methods, being completely different.
In the Netherlands there are already three gynecologists known to have used his sperm for these procedures, which they did themselves.
In 2017, the first case came to light in which the Rotterdam hospital notified the director of an insemination clinic, Jan Karbaat, that they were launching investigations. According to investigations, he was the father of approximately 80 people.
In 2020, the second case was that of Jan Wildschut, who used his sperm between 1981 and 1993, on patients treated at Usala hospital, now Sophia hospital in Zwolle. It is suspected that he is the father of dozens of people, but for now there are only 17 confirmed cases.
