A Donor Conceived Adult
Tiffany Gardner, an adult DCP
Category: family
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Phone Calls that Don’t Come
The call no one wants is also the call many donor conceived people never get. Nobody wants the call—the one you get when someone is seriously ill or has died. But for donor-conceived people who can’t find their close genetic relatives or are rejected by them when they do, the dreaded yet important phone calls
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A Georgia Bulldog Family
The Georgia Bulldogs are College Football National Champions, and my family is thrilled. I spent my freshman year at UGA before transferring to Miami University (Ohio) to be with my now-husband. But I had never been to a UGA football game–until I identified my biological father. I never shared this photograph publicly until the Dawgs
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Unhappy Donor Conceived People Can Still Be Happy People
Sometimes people get the idea that donor conceived people who talk about the realities of anonymous donation and secrecy are just a bunch of bitter curmudgeons bereft of any joy in their lives. That’s not true. I have a wonderful life. I’m married to the man I fell in love with in high school when
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The Sting of Rejection
Rejection from genetic family feels like being the kid nobody wants on the team. Do you remember the dread in PE when you were about to play a team sport and the students, not the teachers, would pick teams? I sure do. I remember the stress of standing on one side of the imaginary line
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(Donor Conceived) Baby’s First Christmas
Something about the ornaments from my first Christmas hits differently now that I know I am donor conceived. I have no independent memories of the ornaments. Instead I found them while moving my grandmother and mom out of their houses, respectively. I think about what these ornaments must have meant to them as they hung
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All Siblings Are “Real” Siblings
People do not have to be genetically related to be “real” siblings. People who share a genetic parent are “real” brothers and sisters–even if they never meet or know of each other’s existence. For several weeks I have posted about why “real” is a horrible word to use when describing family. Both raising parents and
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We Need Support During the Search
Even if I decide to search, I still want you to be my home. Fear can be brutal, especially as a parent. You love your child and would do anything to protect them. And what could hurt more than losing your child? After my biological father ended our relationship, and after my dad died, my
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Sperm & Egg Donors Are “Real” Parents
genetic parent (n) – a. A parent who has conceived or sired rather than adopted a child and whose genes are therefore transmitted to the child. b. The father and mother whose DNA a child carries. It’s been a few days since we explored the concept of what is “real” when it comes to familial
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Non-Genetic Parents Are “Real” Parents
parent (n) – a. A father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian. b. A caregiver or caretaker of the offspring of their own species. Building upon yesterday’s post about how “real” is an inappropriate word choice
A Donor Conceived Adult 