This article speaks of the first generation of sperm donor babies who are now adults. Although sperm donor babies are not products of adoption, many of them are interested in finding the men who donated their sperm for their very existence. I think that these people who are now adults puts a whole different spin on search and reunion.

The article starts out talking about a female named Rebecca who was a sperm donor baby who is now grown up and has been searching for her biological father for years. She states in the article “It’s a very human need to be able to look at a face and say, yes, that’s where I come from.”

Although adoption is not how a sperm donor baby is welcomed into a family, this folks don’t know who their biological fathers are. So, my question becomes is the practice of donor anonymity an injustice to their off spring?

The article goes on to question biology, identity, and families. It also questions whether or not it is right to deprive people of knowing who their natural parents are, what happens to the sense of identity when one of your biological parents is missing? The article even brings up the question of nature verses nurture and whether or not being raised by social rather than biological parents makes a difference.

My initial thoughts are, isn’t this something that we have been saying in the adoption community for years or even decades? Is that what the fight for open records or adoptee access to the original birth certificate all about?

Reading the article caught me off guard as to how similar the issues are for these sperm donor babies compared to adoption triad members. The fact that there are now a million or so donor children in the world was something that also caught me off guard. I don’t think that it is really known for sure how many there are.