This is the story of 600 people, and the number could possibly be higher. They have the same father. They call themselves the world's biggest 'family.'
How could that have happened? It happened at a fertility clinic in London, England during the Second World War. Dr. Mary Barton's husband Bertold Wiesner turns out to be the major donor at the time - between the mid-40s up to the late 1960s. This was a time when artificial insemination was condemned as adultery and was considered criminal. The fertility clinic's work was secretive. None of the children were ever told of the procedure that helped them come about.
What made it possible for all these siblings to discover each other? Ancestry.com and other DNA analysis services. When submitting the DNA test, one can check a box that allows people who discovered they are related to a person to contact them. There's a spike each year - typically after Christmas gift tests - from people who share DNA.
Wiesner was an Asheknazi Jew and this heritage showed up in the DNA tests of people with no known ancestors to match this background. This was a distinctive characteristic that has allowed the story to unfold.
Barry Stevens, from Toronto, is one of these half-siblings. That he is a filmmaker is key - he has created a documentary that brings this story to the public. Here's the CBC Docs POV HERE. Barry finds out that quite a few are filmmakers or writers, and they share verbosity and a sense of humour. He is now a member of the Donor Conceived Alliance of Canada, arguing that nobody has the right to deliberately withhold a citizen's significant personal information. Unlike his story, there are dangers in anonymity of donors, inheriting diseases kept secret by donors, finding out a biological father was a criminal, etc.
Today's flower is Sweet Autumn Clematis. This is a rampant climber - I let it climb the Redbud tree out front. It is not like other clematis which can be delicate and difficult. Its fragrance fills the air. This is a perfect September flower - it distracts us from the season ahead.
