Kamil Bałuk — All Louis' Children
Kamil Bałuk is a Polish journalist who spent three years investigating the case of the Dutch sperm doctor, Jan Karbaat, and has published a book on the subject. ALL LOUIS’ CHILDREN was based on the interviews with Dr. Karbaat, as well as his former clients and those who were conceived at the clinic. Kamil Bałuk started working on the case long before the scandal reached the media in Europe and around the world.
The book is an account of his investigation and it focuses on the story of a group of people conceived with the sperm of one former donor from Jan Karbaat's clinic, who in the book is called Louis. Both Louis and Karbaat are biological fathers of at least 50 children each. These numbers have already been confirmed, but Louis estimates the real number of his biological children is much higher.
Bałuk asks the donorchildren conceived in the clinic about life with so many brothers and sisters. Are they similar to each other? What do they think about their biological father? Kamil Bałuk was the last journalist to interview Jan Karbaat before he died in 2017. The interview is part of a book 'ALL LOUIS' CHILDREN'. Karbaat mentions selling sperm to the US, Germany, Denmark and many other countries.
Rights sold so far:
- Dutch rights – ALLE KINDEREN VAN LOUIS, De Geus, published april 2018
- Czech and Slovakian rights – Absynt, to be published in 2019
English samples available – please contact Andrew Nurnberg agency
Reviews in the Netherlands
An incredibly engaging book, a real pageturner. It deals with issues of genetic origin, search for a biological father and its often disappointing results.
Baluk is at his strongest when he describes the uncomfortable encounters between Halfjes and their biological father and Karbaat. His style goes between very literary, in the contemplative chapters about the motives of his characters, and very smooth and factual, when he writes about the legislation and practice surrounding sperm donations over the years. He approaches facts soberly, distantly, in the manner of a foreign correspondent. Through the combination of personal stories, ethical issues and the development of legislation, All Louis' Children is a well-written book on kinship and social engineering.