Genes r us? Making sense of genetic and non-genetic relationships following anonymous donor insemination.

This exploratory qualitative study investigates the experiences of eight adults conceived following anonymous sperm donation who had discovered the identity both of their donor and of donor half-siblings and had established contact with each other. It focuses primarily on participants' reflections on genetic and social kinship relationships. Data were collected from this group as well as from the son of the donor and the donor-conceived half-sister of one participant by means of semistructured interviews utilizing asynchronous email and digitalized voice recording. Participants discussed their experience of genetic disconnection resulting from learning of their donor-conceived status and of revising their personal biographies and developing new kinship networks as a result of discovering the identity of their donor and the existence of donor half-siblings. The study highlights participants' agency expressed through their ability to draw on both genetic and non-genetic elements of their inheritance to redefine their self-identity and extend their familial/kinship networks in meaningful ways.