Finding half-siblings

After reading an article from the New York Times called, “Hello, I’m Your Sister. Our Father Is Donor 150”, I have learned that there is a new demand from children conceived through donor insemination, to find each other and to create relationships with their half-siblings. At first, I was shocked by this new phenomenon, but as I read stories in the article, I started to understand why it was so important for these kids to find each other. According to the article, “Donor-conceived siblings, who sometimes describe themselves as “lopsided” or “half-adopted,” can provide clues to make each other feel more whole, even if only in the form of physical details.” This statement shows us how important it is for children to be able to know their origins of birth and to relate to other kids that have the same experience or physical detail; it makes them feel more at peace, and in a sense, helps them to create their unique identity. For example, it was mentioned in the article that, “For children who often feel severed from half of their biological identity, finding a sibling – or in some cases, a dozen – can feel like coming home.”

On the other hand, these half-siblings are bonded only through the same donor and although these relationships show us how nature overcomes nurture, there is still a psychological process involved in these bonds. These kids could grow up and never find out about other half-siblings, therefore no bond is created. But once they find each other, they claim to have “Sense of familiarity”, which could be attributed to their same donor genetics or it could be placebo effect. I believe that more research is needed it in this area to really understand if it is natural bond or psychological one that makes these kids feel better about their identity or maybe even more confused depending on individual experience.