Pavel Durov, the co-founder and CEO of Telegram have made a shocking claim. Taking to his social media platform, the Russian entrepreneur has revealed that he has over 100 biological children in 12 nations.
The tech mogul revealed that around 15 years ago, a "weird request" from a friend led to a path as a sperm donor.
The Telegram CEO is now working towards "open-sourcing his DNA" to make sure its easier for his biological children to find each other.
How Did Durov Become A Sperm Donor?
It all started 15 years ago when Pavel Durov's friend reached out to him and asked him to donate his sperm.
Taking to Telegram, the Russian entrepreneur said - "Fifteen years ago, a friend of mine approached me with a weird request. He said that he and his wife couldn’t have kids due to a fertility issue and asked me to donate sperm at a clinic for them to have a baby. I laughed my ass off before realising he was dead serious.”
Durov added that after he visited the clinic, he was informed that he was "high-quality donor material" and his donations would help couples across the world. Shortly after, he signed up as a donor.
The Telegram CEO added that even though he has stopped being a donor now, an IVF clinic still has his sperm which can be "Anonymously used by families who want to have kids".
Future Plans And Open-Sourcing His DNA
Durov acknowledged that conversations and topics like sperm donations are considered taboo and decided that he would share his story in order to "destigmatise the whole notion of sperm donation and incentivise more healthy men to do it.”
The Russian CEO will now work towards open-sourcing his DNA which help is "biological children to find each other" no matter which corner of the world they are in.
“Of course, there are risks, but I don’t regret having been a donor. The shortage of healthy sperm has become an increasingly serious issue worldwide, and I’m proud that I did my part to help alleviate it,” Durov added.
