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The tale of a Dutch fertility doctor who used his own sperm to inseminate patients without their consent has been branded "madness" by TV viewers.

Featured on This Morning today, the true story involves Jan Karbaat, who died in 2017, and helped around 6,000 women between 1980 and 2009 at his fertility clinic in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The doctor was however confirmed as the biological father of 49 children earlier this year following suspicions of a scandal at the clinic and a subsequent court battle from 2017.

And today two of those children appeared on the ITV morning show to discuss their biological father - who had been the fertility doctor of their respective parents.

Joey Hoofdman and Inge Herlaar, who had never met until recently, both grew up questioning whether the men they called their dads were biologically related to them.

It would be years before the pair discovered their father was in fact Mr Karbaat, and that they were siblings.

Explaining how he uncovered the truth, Mr Hoofdman said it was meeting his now-husband's father that solidified his doubts.

He told daytime presenters Holly and Phil that his partner looked like his father, whereas he didn't resemble his own.

The 32-year-old soon found a photo of the fertility doctor who helped his family and, to his surprise, finally found the resemblance he'd been searching for.

At the time, his mother was offended by his inquiries as she believed her husband was the biological father - as his name had been written on a tube containing sperm during the insemination.

Unconvinced, Mr Hoofdman decided to complete an online DNA test - which compares data from across the world - through which he learned of his shared parentage with Ms Herlaar.

But the pair weren't alone, as a further 47 children were later found to have been unknowingly fathered by the fertility doctor - who had 22 children of his own, from four marriages.

Revealing the motivation behind their biological father's actions, Ms Herlaar described him as a "man of his time," noting that he felt women had a responsibility to produce children whenever possible.

The 36-year-old also explained: "We refer to him as the doctor. It takes more to be a dad."

And despite how deceptive their father was, the pair didn't express any hard feelings, with Mr Hoofdman stating: "I am still searching for some of the good things he did, we want to find them out."

The bizarre story horrified and amused viewers of the ITV programme who were quick to express their thoughts on social media.

One viewer said "this story's been wild from start to finish," whilst another said there'd be "lots of people not knowing if they’re married to their half brother or sister now."

This sentiment was shared by others, with one viewer adding: "What that fertility doctor has done is madness. There is every possibility that any of those kids could meet up, get married and find they have the same father. What was he thinking?"

Some viewers tried to understand the doctor's motivations including a viewer who said: "I don’t think the doctor was insane.

"I think he had a massive ego where in his head he was doing the women a favour by donating his sperm."

The actions of the fertility expert were also questioned by another viewer who responded: "I understand that the doctor wanted to help women have children but bloody hell, I can't imagine what these women and 49 children must be thinking."

Others found the funny side of the story, with one referring to Mr Karbaat as at least being "successful" as a fertility doctor.

Another noted that "Christmas is going to be expensive" for all the siblings, whilst one viewer responded: "They do DNA tests for £4.99 in Home Bargains if you want to bulk buy."

Some viewer even compared the strange tale to those featured on Jeremy Kyle, with one viewer commenting that the ITV host will be "livid" the pair we're on his show.

"This has the makings the finest Jeremy Kyle DNA show ever made. Ship all 10000 to the NEC and run it like a tombola," joked another.