While I had always known that I was adopted, it wasn’t until my mom revealed the one piece of information my parents knew about my origins that I launched a search for my birth parents. I had been found on the back doorstep of a residence, estimated to be three days old, wrapped in a man’s black wool shirt and a blanket…
US Sperm banks have promised anonymity to donors – but can they keep that promise? It was just after New Year’s 2019 that Danielle* received the startling Cease and Desist letter at the home she shares with her child in the US. The legal letter was sent from NW Cryobank, the sperm bank she used to conceive her daughter. In it, the sperm bank alleges Danielle has violated the Customer Agreement she signed with them after the sperm bank discovered Danielle had submitted her daughter’s DNA to popular home DNA test service 23andMe. Reading the intimidating letter, Danielle’s heart sank as she felt shocked….
I’ve always known the name of the woman who gave birth to me, my birth mother. When I was 18 she found me and of course one of the first things I asked was who my father was and what his name is. She would never give me those answers. So at 35 years old, I decided to find them for myself…
In January 1996 on my 18th birthday, I learned Ray, the man I thought was my dad all my life wasn’t. I was shocked, a little devastated and, also relieved. He and my mom divorced when I was in kindergarten. I wasn’t close to him or most of his family. In hindsight I think secretly he and his parents always knew I wasn’t one of them….
Seeking Guest Bloggers! Do you have a story to share about your experiences with family built with DNA and/or LOVE? We’d love to hear it!
DNA+LOVE was created as a storytelling blog that features captivating stories of unearthing surprises revealed by DNA tests for genetics and ancestry, families finding long-lost family members, stories about adoptions and donor conception, and many other fascinating and unique family situations. Sometimes our stories are full of love, other times heartache, many times both, but always compelling.
Read on to find out more about how to become a Guest Blogger on DNA+LOVE. If you’re ready to participate (you can even have your story posted anonymously or using a pen name!), click on over and share your story (LINK) here.
These children were conceived with my egg and their Fathers' sperm, via intrauterine insemination (IUI). I, their biological mother, gestated and birthed each of them, as a Traditional Surrogate. They are of my blood, but they are not my own.
I took a quiet moment and wondered what my life would be like if I’d known these ancestors... But then again it felt like I did know them and that by visiting this beautiful land where they lived, loved, and died, I felt inexplicably tied to them. One generation tied to the next, threaded throughout history…
When I was a little girl, I would often sit on my parent’s bright blue, pleather couch and draw photos of stick figures while creating stories in my head about each of the characters. One of the characters I recurrently spent time sketching…
"It says on the Ancestry.com website that this person is my first cousin! Can that be real!!?!?? What could this mean?"
