We are so excited to share this episode with you after we both binged listened to her pretty fabulous podcast. Meet Jenny Kleeman - journalist, author, presenter, and filmmaker who has recently hosted the podcast The Immaculate Deception.
The Story
The Immaculate Deception covers the story of Jan Karbaat, a fertility doctor in the Netherlands during the 1970s and 80s. He was heralded as the person who could get results when all else fails. He operated alone and was criticized for poor administrative procedures. However, the truth that lay beneath was even more sinister……
The Truth
Karbala died a few years ago but shortly before his death, due to rumors of poor practice, suspicions became rife on how Karbaat was able to get such high fertility success rates. It transpired that Karbaat used his own sperm to get women pregnant and Jenny’s podcast sets out to investigate what happened.
The Children
The children that were conceived in Karbaat’s clinic are now grown but have spent their childhood feeling that somehow they didn’t fit into their family unit. In recent years, many of these children have met one another and these meetings had differing significant impacts. Right up to his death Karbaat denied that he had fathered the children, however, the striking similarities of the children and of Karbaat himself, left no doubt.
Has this happened before and could it happen again?
Jenny tells us that over the years very similar cases have been investigated in other countries. UK clinics are well regulated and therefore it is unlikely to happen here, however, mistakes can happen.
The Motivation
What motivates a doctor to do what Karbaat did? Jenny talks about the fact that Karbaat may have had a ‘God-complex’ or that perhaps he did not consider his patients as fully human, he just wanted good results and to be the best. However, Karbaat only retired when he was forced to, quite late in life, and therefore was there something compelling him to continue working? Did he get some perverse power from doing what he did?
The Mothers
Jenny really struggled to find the mother of one of the children to talk to. Jenny talks about the shame that they feel, and how they feel unable to talk as they have an ongoing desire to protect their husbands. However, Jenny was able to speak to one mother, Lydia and her account is heart-breaking.
Experiences from the children
Jenny says that there is so much to learn from what the children experienced, and the overriding aspect is that all the children said they wished that they had been told that they were donor-conceived from a young age. Finding out about the secrecy gave them the most hurt.
Tune in to Jenny’s podcast - The Immaculate Deception in your fave podcast app and, as there is no end to Jenny’s talents, you can hear more from her in her new book – Sex Robots & Vegan Meat. Kate’s copy has just arrived!
SOCIAL MEDIA :
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Jenny Kleeman
The Fertility Podcast
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Kate Davies
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