After “deliberately lying” to potential parents, a father who has at least 550 kids was banned from donating sperm.

In the Netherlands, national guidelines state that sperm donors can father up to 25 children from 12 mothers.

The prolific donor was identified as Jonathan M by Dutch privacy laws. He provided sperm for several Dutch fertility clinics and a facility in Denmark, and also to people he met via advertisements and online forums.

His lawyer stated that his client wanted people who otherwise would not be able to conceive to have a chance to do so.

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The judge who heard the case in civil court said that the donor “deliberately” lied to convince the parents to accept him as a donation, according to a court statement.

The court said that parents are now “confronted with the reality that their children are part of an enormous kinship network”. They were left with hundreds of half siblings, who they didn’t choose.

The report stated that this “has or may have negative psychosocial effects for children.”

“It’s in their best interest to not extend this kinship system any further.”

In a statement, the court said that this case involved “conflicting fundamental right”,

It added: “On one hand, there is the right of respect for the privacy and dignity of the donors and their children, and on the contrary, there is the same right as the donor.”

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The court found that the “interests of the donor’s children and their parents are greater than the interests of the donator in continuing to provide sperm for new prospective parents”.

Injunctions were sought by a mother who had conceived a child with the donor sperm, and a foundation that represents other parents.

A Dutch court handed it down on Friday.

The mother, Eva, who was identified only by the foundation, said, “I hope that this ruling will lead to a mass donation ban and spread like an oily slick into other countries.”

We must protect our children from this injustice by standing with them.

If the donor violates his ban, he faces a fine of EUR100,000. (PS88.115) per case.

Mark de Hek, an attorney, called the ruling “a clear signal, and as far as I’m concerned, a last warning to other mass-donors”.