If you need proof that life can be stranger than fiction, then this woman’s story is it. Last month, she turned to the subreddit ‘Donor Conceived‘ to share a discovery that would shake anyone’s sense of self: a DNA test taken on a whim supposedly revealed a life-altering connection between herself and her husband. Turns out, they’re not only romantic partners but also half-siblings. The news raised so many difficult questions about personal identity and family that she really needed someone to relate to through this unexpected experience.
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DNA tests can uncover unexpected secrets
Image credits:Alex Green/Pexels (not the actual photo)
This woman, for example, discovered that her partner is more than just her husband
Image credits:MART PRODUCTION/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits:Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels (not the actual photo)
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Some countries provide donor-conceived people with more rights
Image credits:Amanda Lemos/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Bysome estimates, there are over 1 million people in the United States who were conceived using donor egg or sperm and, of course, many more over the world.
Some places have policies to lower the chances of something like this happening. While anonymous donation, in which the donor’s identity is not available to the donor-conceived person, is common in the US and Canada, many European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, and others,requirethat the donor’s identity be disclosed when the donor-conceived person comes of age (typically 18). And there’s good reason behind this.
This year, researchers at King’s College in London published asystematic reviewof studies investigating the psychological experiences of donor-conceived people. It includes qualitative and quantitative data from 50 studies with over 4,500 adult and child participants.
The researchers noted that DNA testing should come with louder warnings about the possibility of finding unknown siblings or family secrets, which can cause significant emotional pain—and this Reddit post is an example why.
This particular story sparked a broader discussion about family and identity
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