15 years as a sperm donor

Telegram founder has over 100 children in 12 countries

Pavel Durov invented the popular smartphone messenger Telegram and has been a sperm donor for years. He now wants to publish his DNA so that his more than 100 children can find each other.

(Bild: AFP)

The founder of the social network Telegram, Pawel Durow, has made previous sperm donations public in a message and described himself as the biological father of more than 100 children in twelve countries.

"Now I plan to make my DNA publicly available so that my biological children can find each other more easily," the 39-year-old announced on his news channel. Although he is aware of the risks, he wants to rid the topic of sperm donation of a stigma. He himself has never regretted donating sperm 15 years ago so that parents could fulfill their desire to have children.

Durow lives alone
"The lack of healthy sperm has become an increasingly serious problem worldwide, and I am proud to have played a part in making that easier," he explained. When he was young, friends who wanted to have a baby asked him for help. Durow initially thought it was a joke, but then agreed. He himself also said that he had never been married and preferred to live alone.

Durov, who lives in Dubai, said that he wanted to encourage other healthy men to donate sperm with his message. The Telegram boss had left his native Russia after pro-Kremlin forces took over the Russian Facebook counterpart VK, which he had created and is still popular today.

According to Durov, Telegram currently has 950 million users worldwide and should soon break the billion mark. In one of his rare interviews this year, he also categorically denied having anything to do with the Russian state. He emphasized the independence of Telegram and is the sole owner of the network.