A Donor Conceived Adult
Tiffany Gardner, an adult DCP
Tag: sperm donor
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U.S. Donor Conceived Council
I am pleased to announce my involvement with U.S. Donor Conceived Council, Inc. (USDCC) as vice president of communications. USDCC was established in 2022 and is led entirely by donor conceived people (DCP) who serve on a voluntary basis. Our goal is to educate about issues important to DCPs and to advocate for changes centered
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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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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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This Ride is Exhausting
I was riding high for a couple of weeks. The Atlantic article came out, and in its wake I had doors open for more writing opportunities, podcast interviews, potential collaborations, and more. I was feeling good. Empowered. At peace. I told my therapist I felt as if the grief over my biological father was in
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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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Anonymity is a Roadblock to Closure
For late-discovery donor conceived people, it seems recipient parents often want to minimize our feelings by focusing on the deception. “If I just tell the truth from the beginning, my kids won’t end up [insert negative adjective of choice here].” But telling the truth doesn’t always tell the whole story. What upsets me the most
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Problematic Donor Recruitment Tactics
The above image is how the fertility industry attracts donors, and it exemplifies all that is wrong with monetizing these “donations.” Need money for a shopping spree? Sell your biological children to strangers! You don’t even have to allow your children to know your name or future medical history! You’ll have that new purse, six-pack
A Donor Conceived Adult 