Are you secretly dating a family member? As 'The Man With 1,000 Kids' baffles Netflix viewers, scientists reveal the grim truth of why relatives separated at a young age are attracted to each other

There is possibly nary taboo which evokes specified a visceral guidance arsenic that against incest.

The caller Netflix documentary, 'The Man With 1,000 Kids', baffled viewers pinch nan communicative of Jonathan Jacob Meijer, who admitted to fathering upwards of 500 children crossed nan world.

Mr Meijer's baffling obsession has now created a superior consequence of accidental incest among his unknowing offspring.

More worryingly, immoderate psychologists pass that a arena called 'genetic intersexual attraction' tin origin separated siblings to create an 'obsessive' romanticist attraction.

Leslie Pate Mackinnon, a psychiatrist who specialises successful children of take and sperm donorship, told MailOnline: 'This is very existent and I person seen families rustle isolated by it.'

Netflix's shocking caller documentary follows nan communicative of aggregate couples and azygous women who discovered that their children had been fathered by a azygous prolific donor.

Mr Meijer donated to 11 sperm banks successful his autochthonal Holland, made galore backstage donations, and travelled crossed countries and continents to debar aid limits.

During a 2023 civilian suit brought by nan Dutch Donorkind Foundation, Meijer became taxable to a tribunal bid threatening him pinch a €100,000 good for making immoderate much donations.

However, Meijer himself admits to having already fathered complete 550 children, while immoderate estimate that he whitethorn now person complete 3,000 children.

Beyond nan ineligible ramifications, 1 of nan biggest concerns is nan consequence of accidental inbreeding betwixt Meijer's children.

Under Dutch guidelines, donors tin only begetter 25 children to trim nan consequence of their children entering into friendly relations.

In nan UK, nan limit is group moreover lower, pinch donors capped astatine making donations to a maximum of 10 families.

The astir superior consequence is consanguinity, successful which related individuals person children of their own, starring to terrible wellness issues and an accrued consequence of babe mortality.

Some of nan affected mothers besides interest that this consequence whitethorn beryllium heightened by nan arena of familial intersexual attraction.

One mother, Natalie, says successful nan documentary: 'Children who haven’t been brought up together are much apt to get attracted to each different because they spot immoderate familiarities successful nan look of nan sibling.'

According to Cumbria County Council's take support services, genetic sexual attraction is nan 'intense beingness and affectional feelings' children of take tin consciousness erstwhile restored to their commencement families.

Cumbria County Council's proposal connected nan taxable further notes: 'The powerfulness of attraction tin nevertheless beryllium truthful beardown that “normal normal and taboos” go difficult to adhere to moreover for hitherto accepted and lawabiding adults.'

This mentation is not universally accepted and immoderate critics constituent to a deficiency of objective tests connected nan topic, however, Mrs Mackinnon says that she has seen this hap first-hand successful her patients.

She explains that nan arena is apt caused by a nickname of similarity accompanied by nan deficiency of incest taboos which usually create betwixt siblings.

Mrs Mackinnon told MailOnline: 'The first clip 2 siblings of a sperm philanthropist meet each what they are apt to find retired is that this person's a batch for illustration me; they for illustration nan aforesaid books, they person nan aforesaid consciousness of humour.

'People get misguided because location is this personification who looks conscionable for illustration maine and laughs conscionable for illustration maine and it's recognising their DNA successful personification else.'

Mrs Mackinnon says she has worked pinch a number of adopted individuals who person knowledgeable these feelings erstwhile gathering their biologic families for nan first time.

There person besides been a bid of high-profile incidents successful which children of take entered into romanticist and moreover intersexual relationships pinch their commencement relatives.

The main portion of objective grounds for this arena comes from a 1992 study conducted by Dr Maurice Greenberg of University College London.

In his study, Dr Greenberg interviewed 8 antheral and female adoptees and analysed different 40 cases, including commencement parents.

However, since past nan taxable has been small investigated - an rumor which Mrs Mackinnon attributes to nan arguable quality of nan taxable and nan societal stigma against those suffering from nan condition.

Just for illustration Dr Greenberg, Mrs Mackinnon besides draws a favoritism betwixt coercive and abusive incestuous relationships and nan feelings evoked by familial intersexual attraction.

She says: 'Those group are having a very normal guidance to a very abnormal situation.

'It's a disorder they're trying to make consciousness of but there's thing that makes consciousness astir gathering your mother, your father, aliases your sister erstwhile you're 40 and you've ne'er laid eyes connected them.'

In nan Netherlands, wherever Mr Meijer made nan mostly of his donations, nan consequence of consanguinity is moreover higher.

With a organization of conscionable 17 million, nan Netherlands is location to conscionable complete half arsenic galore group arsenic Texas, making nan consequence of Meijer's children gathering highly high.

Ties Van Der Meer is president of nan Donorkind Foundation, which revenge a suit against Mr Meijer successful 2023, arsenic good arsenic a coach of societal activity astatine The Hague University of Applied Sciences and an accredited intersexual wellness consultant.

Mr Van Der Meer told MailOnline: 'More children simply intends much chance they will meet.'

The consequence is particularly pronounced successful cases specified arsenic Mr Meiijer who flaunted restrictions by travelling to different towns and countries.

Combined pinch nan sheer number of times Mr Meijer's made donations, this makes it highly difficult for his children to cognize each of their relatives.

Mr Van Der Meer says: 'We cognize of galore cases wherever respective children [of Mr Meijer] are successful nan aforesaid superior schoolhouse aliases unrecorded successful nan aforesaid thoroughfare aliases village.

'Since they don't cognize each different making love pinch a half-sibling is bigger than is ideal.'

While Mr Van Der Meer says location are nary definitive answers astir really familial intersexual attraction works, he besides points retired that location are different factors astatine play.

He says: 'Although biology plays a domiciled successful intersexual attraction of people it is not nan full picture. Not moreover close.'

Socio-economic status, interests, talent, arsenic good arsenic characteristic traits each play a domiciled successful nan improvement of attraction.

Some of those features mightiness beryllium inherited done nan genes but others are owed to upbringing.

Mr Van Der Meer says: 'Since recipient parents stock a batch of demographics this will besides adhd to nan anticipation of falling successful love.

These factors mean that for those who do find themselves gathering their estranged siblings, nan effects tin beryllium highly overwhelming.

Mrs Mackinnon says: 'What happens is that this personification who's experiencing this becomes obsessed pinch nan personification - this is for illustration an obsession you've ne'er seen.

'The group picture it to maine arsenic being magnetised aliases not being capable to get them retired of my mind.'

In definite cases, Mrs Mackinnon says that nan attraction tin beryllium truthful beardown it tin moreover override people's accustomed intersexual preferences successful men aliases women.

Although she says that group are capable to activity done these feelings, it tin return years to flooded nan issues.

Since these powerful emotions tin originate betwixt familial siblings who do not cognize they are related, abrupt and powerful affectional attachments to a caller partner could beryllium a imaginable informing sign.

If you were conceived done sperm aid and abruptly statesman to consciousness aggravated feelings of attraction towards different person, Mrs Mackinnon advises getting a DNA trial arsenic soon arsenic possible.

In fact, she advises that anyone who is adopted aliases conceived done donorship should see a DNA trial earlier entering into immoderate friendly relationships.

Likewise, Rachel Cutting, Director of Compliance and Information astatine nan UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) told MailOnline: 'As genetically related individuals tin beryllium sexually attracted to each different donor-conceived individuals from nan property of 16 individuals tin use for accusation astir nan anticipation of being related to nan personification they intend to participate into an friendly beingness narration with.

Mrs Cutting adds: 'It is truthful important that parents talk to their kid astir their origins from an early age.'

Ultimately, while nan Man With 1,000 Kids remains an absolute outlier case, this highlights nan imaginable risks of unchecked sperm donation.

If we see nan lowest estimate of 500 children, Mr Meijer could person arsenic galore arsenic 15,000 descendants successful 100 year's time.

Not conscionable his nonstop children but their children arsenic good will each look nan consequence of accidental consanguinity.

Even beyond nan imaginable psychological damage, nan wellness risks to nan children of familial siblings aliases cousins stay high.

This whitethorn lead to recessive genes not being overwritten and becoming ascendant successful a child, causing galore types of congenital disabilities.

In nan UK rates of relations betwixt adjacent relations are already higher than you mightiness expect.

One world study examining rates of 'extreme' inbreeding – wherever parents of a kid are considered to beryllium first- aliases second-degree relatives – recovered 125 Brits retired of a sample of 450,000 were nan consequence of specified unions.

Donor limits and caps beryllium precisely to thief mitigate nan consequence of consanguineous relationships forming betwixt unknowing siblings.

However, successful nan Netherlands exceeding nan kid limit is not a criminal offence and successful nan UK galore families recreation overseas for fertility treatment.

Without strict limits, early generations mightiness look an ever higher consequence of accidentally making love personification pinch whom they stock a humor relation.

Ms Mackinnon concludes: 'A batch of group want to put it down but this consequence is very real....The Man pinch 1,000 kids is showing america what's conscionable astir nan corner.'