A growing family


Hi Wendy and Ryan,

This letter comes after several years of thinking about contacting you to give you my thanks and, I think, the thanks of the other families that we’ve connected with through the DSR.

My partner and I joined the DSR about six years ago when our daughter was nine. We gave birth to her with the help of an anonymous donor through The California Cryobank. When she began to ask questions about the man who helped us become a family, we joined the DSR. She was aware that we were reaching out to the DSR and was curious about the results. Very soon after we had joined and emailed other registered same-donor families, we received a response from a family who happened to live fairly close to us. We talked on the phone several times and I instantly felt an ease that continues to this day. We set up a date to meet and continued to meet regularly. The next year we met another sibling. There was again, a reassuring ease and a sense that it was the right thing to do. We set up a date to get our families together and, wow--- now there were three. We continued to meet off and on throughout the years. We were contacted by a third couple who had three children. Our half-sibling count then became six. All six children met in October of 2013 and the experience was everything you’d think-- parents looking at the similarities, kids being kind of shy and awkward, yet giggling and laughing at their resemblances. We have enjoyed annual camping trips, visits during the holidays, and a sense of being connected beyond our immediate family.

Today, February 6, 2016, we were contacted by a sibling who lives in Boston. She is one of a set of triplets. So now we are nine!

(NOTE: There are other families who have registered on the website, but have not responded to the requests to meet.)

I can only speak for our child, but meeting her half-siblings has been extremely important for her. We are so grateful to you and Ryan for helping us bring our families together. If these kids never get to connect with their donor, we are so grateful that they have connected with each other.

Sincerely,

Kim and Rosie