If there is a prize for cementing one's legacy in the world, it shall surely go to Pavel Durov. Known for being one of the co-founders of the widely popular messaging app Telegram, Durov has claimed that he has over 100 biological children and yet is still unmarried.
Durov, also the CEO of Telegram, attributes the reasons for his extensive progeny to him being a sperm donor.
15 years ago, at the request of a friend, Durov began donating his sperms. He said that his friend and his wife were not able to have children. Thus his friend asked for his help, a Times of India report said.
Durov said, "He (his friend) 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 realizing he was dead serious."
Durov said that the doctors told him that "a high quality donor was in short supply" and it was his "civic duty" to donate sperms in an anonymous manner to aid couples who aren't able to have children.
“This sounded crazy enough to get me to sign up for sperm donation," Durov claimed.
He stated that his donations have helped many couples across 12 countries who were experiencing difficulty in conceiving. Even today, one IVF clinic still contains his frozen sperms.
The publication further quoted him saying, “My past donating activity has helped over a hundred couples in 12 countries to have kids. Moreover, many years after I stopped being a donor, at least one IVF clinic still has my frozen sperm available for anonymous use by families who want to have kids."
Being unmarried, Durov realises there are risks. However, he never once regrets becoming a donor.
Shortage of healthy sperms across the world is a very serious issue, according to the co-founder of Telegram. Nevertheless, he is proud to have done his part to aid those who were in a difficult situation.
Published 31 July 2024, 13:58 IST