Building a family tree: donor-conceived people, DNA tracing and donor 'anonymity'

Abstract

Genealogy is the tracing of a line of descent continuously from an ancestor. When conducted by individuals or families, it has been said to be a narrative of how outside forces shape an individual, a journey to build the story of one’s own becoming. It involves the quest to identify the people to whom an individual shares connections, the quest to trace lineage, family, history and kinship. This paper examines the tracing of such lineage, family, history and kinship by donor-conceived people.