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Married Couple’s Life Turned Upside Down: “I’m 23% Related To My Husband”
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Married Couple’s Life Turned Upside Down: “I’m 23% Related To My Husband”

Married Couple's Life Turned Upside Down: “I’m 23% Related To My Husband”: Couple Takes A DNA Test, Discovers A Devastating SecretWoman Takes DNA Test For Fun, Only To Discover Her Husband Is Her Half-Sibling“I’m 23% Related To My Husband”: Couple Uncover Dark Family Secret As DNA Test Goes WrongA Couple’s Life Flips Upside Down After They Find Out They’re Half-Siblings“I Matched With Him. My Husband. As A Half-Sibling”: DNA Test Flips Marriage On Its Head“This Changes So Much”: Woman Learns She’s Married To Her Half Brother“I Matched With Him”: Couple Takes A DNA Test For Fun, Discovers A Disturbing TruthDNA Test Reveals Married Couple Are Half-Siblings, And 40 More Are Out There“No, We’re Not Divorcing”: Married Couple Do DNA Test For Fun, Find Out They Have The Same Dad
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If you need proof that life can be stranger than fiction, then this woman’s story is it. Last month, she turned to the subreddit ‘Donor Conceived‘ to share a discovery that would shake anyone’s sense of self: a DNA test taken on a whim supposedly revealed a life-altering connection between herself and her husband. Turns out, they’re not only romantic partners but also half-siblings. The news raised so many difficult questions about personal identity and family that she really needed someone to relate to through this unexpected experience.

DNA tests can uncover unexpected secrets

Image credits: Alex Green/Pexels (not the actual photo)

This woman, for example, discovered that her partner is more than just her husband

Image credits: MART PRODUCTION/Pexels (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: accidentallyrelated

Some countries provide donor-conceived people with more rights

Image credits: Amanda Lemos/Pexels (not the actual photo)

By some estimates, there are over 1 million people in the United States who were conceived using donor egg or sperm and, of course, many more over the world.

Some places have policies to lower the chances of something like this happening. While anonymous donation, in which the donor’s identity is not available to the donor-conceived person, is common in the US and Canada, many European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, and others, require that the donor’s identity be disclosed when the donor-conceived person comes of age (typically 18). And there’s good reason behind this.

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This year, researchers at King’s College in London published a systematic review of studies investigating the psychological experiences of donor-conceived people. It includes qualitative and quantitative data from 50 studies with over 4,500 adult and child participants.

On the whole, the evidence showed that donor-conceived people have equal or better psychological outcomes than individuals conceived without using a donor. However, the review also found that a minority of donor-conceived people reported mental health and identity struggles, including difficulties with identity formation, mistrust, and concerns regarding genetic heritage. There was also evidence of significant shifts in family relationships after learning that they were conceived by a donor.

A 2021 survey of 143 donor conceived people by researchers at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Bioethics discovered that about 94% of them were, in fact, conceived anonymously. Additionally, nearly 85% reported a change in their “sense of self” when they learned the truth and about 50% received counseling to cope with the discovery. Almost 74% said they “often” or “very often” think about the nature of their conception.

The researchers noted that DNA testing should come with louder warnings about the possibility of finding unknown siblings or family secrets, which can cause significant emotional pain—and this Reddit post is an example why.

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This particular story sparked a broader discussion about family and identity

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Jonas Zvilius

Jonas Zvilius

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This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

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Jonas Zvilius

Jonas Zvilius

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This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

How would you handle finding out you and your partner are half-siblings?
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UKGrandad
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Forty half-siblings all living nearby sounds like a massive failure by the clinic. With that many, and probably all pretty close in age, then depending on the size of the town the odds of this happening range from a distinct possibility to an almost certainty.

PFD
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, I'm surprised to hear that an anonymous donor's sperm would be used locally like this.

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UKGrandad
Community Member
4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity needs an update. EDIT: Downvoted for a joke? Really? When was humour banned and why didn't I get the memo?

Pyla
Community Member
3 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

🤣🤣🤣🤣 I was going to say “what is this, Hapsburg week on Bored Panda?”, but thought the better of it.

Load More Replies...
Traveling Lady Railfan
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel really badly for the poster and for her husband because, they're in a really difficult situation right now and they didn't do anything wrong at all. I don't know if husband's father being honest right from the start and mentioning that he was a sperm donor and op knowing that she was donor conceived, would have made anything different at the beginning of their courtship, maybe they would have thought to have had the DNA checked just to be safe but it's too late now. An unusual situation. Bad enough finding out that your husband is your half sibling, but to find out that you've got 40 other half siblings nearby? Oh my goodness. Talk about complicated.

Load More Comments
UKGrandad
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Forty half-siblings all living nearby sounds like a massive failure by the clinic. With that many, and probably all pretty close in age, then depending on the size of the town the odds of this happening range from a distinct possibility to an almost certainty.

PFD
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, I'm surprised to hear that an anonymous donor's sperm would be used locally like this.

Load More Replies...
UKGrandad
Community Member
4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity needs an update. EDIT: Downvoted for a joke? Really? When was humour banned and why didn't I get the memo?

Pyla
Community Member
3 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

🤣🤣🤣🤣 I was going to say “what is this, Hapsburg week on Bored Panda?”, but thought the better of it.

Load More Replies...
Traveling Lady Railfan
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel really badly for the poster and for her husband because, they're in a really difficult situation right now and they didn't do anything wrong at all. I don't know if husband's father being honest right from the start and mentioning that he was a sperm donor and op knowing that she was donor conceived, would have made anything different at the beginning of their courtship, maybe they would have thought to have had the DNA checked just to be safe but it's too late now. An unusual situation. Bad enough finding out that your husband is your half sibling, but to find out that you've got 40 other half siblings nearby? Oh my goodness. Talk about complicated.

Load More Comments
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