Not exactly adopted...where should I start?

[JeffreyRopp]

I realize that I need to read a bit to come up to speed, but I'm hoping that someone can offer a few suggestions about where to begin.

I'm the product of artificial insemination from an unknown sperm donor. As such my birth certificate inaccurately lists someone other than my true biological father. Further, I'm skeptical that there are any unoffical records or possible access to the identity of thew donor.

My brother has similar circumstances. We were always told that we have the same biological father (sperm donor), but there isn't any documentation to support that claim.

My mother has some information on her maternal side but nothing on her paternal side either.

What could I expect to learn? What tests should I consider? How could I improve my inquiry by including other family members in testing?

Many thanks for your thoughts.
Jeff

[dapike]

You raise several issues, the easiest of which to resolve is the question of whether or not you and your brother have the same biological father (assuming that you are male, which your name suggests you to be): have both yourself and your brother take a Y-DNA test. If your results are anything other than a near perfect match, then you've got different fathers. I would recommend 25 or 37 markers for this, and also for my next suggestion.

That next suggestion, about trying to identify your biological father, would be to get a 37 marker Y-DNA test. And then to hope to eventually find a near perfect match with some complete stranger who also happens to get tested. Such a match will not in itself reveal who your biological father was, but it should give you some idea of which extended family he belongs to (at least insofar as what his surname is). The caveat here though is that instances of surname changes, infidelity, etc, in previous generations may mean that there are various men out there with whom you could match, and not all of them have the same surname.

As for your mother's father, if you want to use Y-DNA to learn about his genetic ancestry, you'll need a DNA sample from a direct male descendant. So if your grandfather is no longer alive, then from one of his sons, or one of their sons. If your mother had no brothers, then you need to widen the search, looking for descendants of your grandfather's brothers as the next step.

Good luck.

- David.

[R2-D2]

Sperm Donor Registry website

I realize that I need to read a bit to come up to speed, but I'm hoping that someone can offer a few suggestions about where to begin.

I'm the product of artificial insemination from an unknown sperm donor. As such my birth certificate inaccurately lists someone other than my true biological father. Further, I'm skeptical that there are any unoffical records or possible access to the identity of thew donor.

My brother has similar circumstances. We were always told that we have the same biological father (sperm donor), but there isn't any documentation to support that claim.

My mother has some information on her maternal side but nothing on her paternal side either.

What could I expect to learn? What tests should I consider? How could I improve my inquiry by including other family members in testing?

Many thanks for your thoughts.
Jeff

There was an article in my local paper today about a website for people whose father was a sperm donor. Apperently people can find out a donor number and register it on this website and if anyone else was born from this donor they can meet each other. Basically you might find some of your half-siblings but not necessarily the identity of the donor. The website: The Donor Sibling Registry