Hosted by the donor conceived novice journalist Kaleigh Karnal, the Message in a Bottle podcast investigates the anonymous sperm and egg donation industry, one person at a time. She sits down with her own sperm donor father, half-siblings, and other members of the donor conceived community to talk about how at-home DNA kits can turn your life upside down, the dangerous realities of an unregulated system, navigating new family relationships, and much more. CONTACT: MESSAGEINABOTTLEPOD@GMAIL.C ...
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Cora: Finding Her Daughter's 'Egg Mama'
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Meet Cora. After struggling with secondary infertility, her and her husband decided to use an egg donor to have another child. Cora thought they'd picked an open donor - turns out, she was wrong. Listen as Kaleigh and Cora discuss how determination led to answers and a whole new family, and much more! Follow, share, and rate the podcast if you’re a…
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Meet Alice, May, Shannon, and Rachel — they’ve never met before, but have one thing in common: their children all have the same biological father. Listen as Kaleigh and the moms talk about their decisions to use a sperm donor, how they plan to raise their donor conceived kids, terminology surrounding donor conception, and so much more!Follow, share…
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Melissa L: Discovery & Community
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Meet Melissa — yes, a different Melissa from a different DCC! Melissa L. is a late discovery donor conceived person who started the Donor Conceived Community as a resource for new discovery people, including a number of themed peer led support groups. Listen as we discuss Melissa’s discovery journey, how she met her biological father, and much more…
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After falling down the Reddit rabbit hole, Kaleigh was reminded of how misconceptions control the narrative about anonymous donation. So, this week, she sat down to share what she's learned about donor conception over the last three months and reflect on how her opinions have evolved from episode one. Follow, share, and rate the podcast if you’re a…
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Eric: a Donor Conceived Person of Color
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Meet Eric: a POC from the Midwest who found out he was sperm donor conceived as an adult. Listen as Kaleigh and Eric discuss family trees vs. 'family vines', being a minority within a minority, and much more. Learn more about the DC BIPOC group here: https://donorconceivedcommunity.org/ Follow, share, and rate the podcast if you’re a fan. Thank you…
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Melissa B: the U.S. Donor Conceived Council
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Meet Melissa: she's egg donor conceived and the VP of Development at the US Donor Conceived Council, or DCC, which is a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights of donor conceived people. Listen as Kaleigh and Melissa discuss Melissa's DC story, legal problems of the industry, what the DCC does, and more! U.S. Donor Conceived Council we…
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Sarah: Using a Known Sperm Donor
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Meet Sarah: a newly pregnant mom who used a known sperm donor! Listen as Kaleigh and Sarah discuss her family's decision to use a known donor, how they found him, being a young mom, wanting what's best for your children, and much more! Follow, share, and rate the podcast if you’re a fan. Thank you for listening! LINKS: Website: http://www.messagein…
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Should I Become a Sperm Donor?
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This week, Kaleigh has a fascinating conversation with a man who is considering becoming a sperm donor. They discuss what motivates a person to donate sperm, how it might affect his life and the lives of potential future children, and more. Follow, share, and rate the podcast if you’re a fan. Thank you for listening! LINKS: Website: http://www.mess…
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Joëlle: Curiosity & Discovery
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Meet Joëlle: donor conceived, student, and activist from the Netherlands! Raised in a two mom household, Joëlle was always curious about her donor, who she eventually met and is now neighbors with! Listen as we talk about the Dutch donation industry, DC rights activism, and what it’s like to find out that you have 32+ half siblings! Joëlle's Instag…
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Freya: Donor Conceived & Recipient Mom
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Meet Freya: an English mom to a donor conceived child and is donor conceived herself. Listen as we discuss growing up with two moms, Freya and her wife's process of having their own child via donor sperm, differences between the UK and the US donation industries, and much more! Follow, share, and rate the podcast if you’re a fan. Thank you for list…
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Meet Peter: grandfather, best selling author, and advocate for the rights of the donor conceived. After discovering that he was donor conceived in 1995, Peter set out to learn everything he could about his genetic family and the history of assisted reproductive technology (ART). The result: his new book, Uprooted - a memoir and an expose of the gam…
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Jonathan: on Being “50% a Stranger”
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Meet Jonathan: a donor conceived person who discovered the truth about his identity through a commercial DNA test in his 40's. Listen as we discuss this life-altering news, his relationships with his mom, bio-dad, and half-siblings, our problems with the gamete donation industry, advocating for the donor conceived, and more! Follow, share, and rate…
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Meet Danny: a donor conceived person and co-host of The Best Life Podcast. Born in California in the early 80s, Danny found out her parents used donor sperm at age 13 when her dad casually revealed the truth. We discuss the painful aftermath of her discovery, placing her daughter for adoption, the effects of shame, and more. Follow, share, and rate…
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Morgan: 50 Young Half-Siblings
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Meet Morgan: a 26-year-old donor conceived person raised by two moms. A few years ago, Morgan's understanding of her donor and her family changed when she discovered that her bio-father donated sperm to a huge national sperm bank years after she was born. Suddenly, she had 50+ half-siblings who ranged in age from teenagers to newborns and the massi…
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Kaleigh investigates a misunderstanding with California Cryobank in 2001 that led to the birth of a much younger half-sister in 2008. She also gets into the technical aspects of sperm donation and finds out some shocking news on the phone with Brian, an employee of the sperm bank. Follow, share, and rate the podcast if you’re a fan. Thank you for l…
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A Conversation with My Sperm Donor
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7 years after discovering her sperm donor's identity through a spontaneous Google search, Kaleigh and Donor 5182 sit down to talk about his decision to donate sperm, telling his family, receiving 15-year-old Kaleigh's letter, meeting his donor daughter Esther in 2010 through a wild coincidence, and more. She even reveals a major secret about a 12th…
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Welcome to the show! In this first episode, Kaleigh and her boyfriend Bryce do an FAQ about anonymous sperm donation and discuss the brief version of her experience as a donor-conceived person. We then hear from 6 of Kaleigh's donor half-siblings: Luca (24), Rachel (22), Isabel (21), Emma (21), Esther (21), Ruby (20) and her full brother Aidan (19)…
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