He has never had sex with a woman but Markus K from Munich, Germany may be the gay dad with the most kids in the world – 22 so far.

Slim, dark-haired and 1.94 meters (6’3”) tall he has 12 children living in Munich, one in Tuscany, one in Vienna, six in other German towns and two still in the womb – they are due to be born this summer.

If both those pregnancies go as planned he will end up with 12 girls and 12 boys. He thinks that’s a good number and may consider stopping.

And, unlike many sperm donors, the 45-year-old is still in touch with all of them.

He told the Munich Evening News which broke the story: ‘I think children have the right to know their biological parents. At birth, I therefore let myself be entered as the biological father. Eight weeks later, I give him or her up for adoption, to the co-mother. That gives her a mother’s rights and protects me from maintenance obligations.

‘But I keep in touch. I meet with five of the families every four weeks. The others I only see once a year. I try to be there for each child’s birthday. We eat cake, paint something together, play cards. The children are happy, because they see their dad has a face.’

Markus wanted to be a priest but the Catholic Church refused to accept him because he is gay and he was forced to leave the seminary in 1994.

He offered sperm to one mother almost straight away but she didn’t become pregnant.

Then in 2003 he saw an advert for a lesbian couple seeking a sperm donor. He met them and realized they would be great moms. Nine months later his first son was born – he is nine now and lives in Munich.

Eventually word spread that his donations tend to lead to pregnancy and that he doesn’t take money for them – he became popular.

He told the Evening News: ‘The woman comes to my home when she likes with her partner. I give my sperm in a cup. Then the woman retreats to a room in my apartment. She puts the sperm in a plastic syringe from the pharmacy without needle of course… Some do a headstand after. Others simply lie down and fall asleep.’

He says he does it for a number of reasons: ‘Help, reproductive instinct, loneliness and quiet revenge on the church. I can not be a priest as a gay man, but I can reproduce myself as often as I want.’

But despite Markus K’s enormous family, he is still missing one thing – a partner for himself.

‘My life is not compatible with a relationship. My last partner was not too thrilled to have to constantly deal with other women or children to celebrate birthdays. I’m single for several years, which makes pretty lonely.’