Posts tagged Genetic Identity
Episode 123: Your DNA Guide –Diahan Southard and Jayne Ekins
Episode 123: Your DNA Guide –Diahan Southard and Jayne Ekins

Diahan Southard is a pioneer in the world of DNA testing and family history. She founded Your DNA Guide as a way to teach anyone with DNA how to use it to find out more about themselves and their family. She is the author of Your DNA Guide - the Book, and creator of Your DNA Guide - the Academy, an online learning platform. She spends all her spare time with her three kids and especially looks forward to date night with her handsome husband.

Jayne has 23 years of experience in the field of genetic genealogy. She had the extraordinary experience of being mentored by Dr. Scott Woodward and his visionary team that took shape in the earliest days of this burgeoning field. She has been a part of nearly every stage of driving the discovery process forward: field specimen collection, marker selection and assay design, data management and computational processes, analysis, and algorithms, and investigating population-level research questions. She has lectured throughout the United States and international venues on the applications of molecular biology to elucidating ancient and recent genealogical connections. She has authored and co-authored many peer-reviewed scientific publications, as well as general articles on genetic genealogy. It is a pleasure for her to see the accelerating developments in genetic genealogy, and the wide accessibility and application it has for the average human curious about their origins.

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Episodes 101-125Tyler EllisAuthor, Genetic Identity
Episode 122: Navigating The Aftermath Of An IVF Mix-Up – Donna and Vanner Johnson and Devin and Kelly McNeil

Vanner and Donna Johnson are a married couple, parents of two children, living in Utah. Vanner is a licensed attorney with a strong technology background, currently working in the financial industry in client success. Donna is an elementary educator.

Kelly And Devin McNeil are a married couple who are 3 time IVF patients, with 2 failed cycles, then a successful pregnancy resulting in their now 13 year old son. They reside in Colorado. 

These two couples met because of an inexplicable IVF mix-up, forever connecting the two families. Together they are working to support their children and navigate the best path forward.

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Episodes 101-125Tyler EllisGenetic Identity, Infertility, Legal Issues
Episode 121: HeyReprotech – Alison Motluk
Episode 121: HeyReprotech – Alison Motluk

Alison Motluk is a Toronto-based freelance journalist who works in print and radio. She has reported widely on the social fallout of reproductive technology, including about the first boy to find his anonymous sperm donor using only his spit and the internet, about the health uncertainties of egg donation, and about the Ottawa fertility doctor who used his own sperm to help patients conceive. She publishes a weekly newsletter, HeyReprotech and Ukraine Surrogacy Dispatches.

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Episodes 101-125Tyler EllisAuthor, Egg Donation, Genetic Identity, Sperm Donations
Episode 119: 800+ Siblings – Laura Doe

Like many hopeful parents-to-be, Laura and her wife turned to sperm donation for assistance forming their family. Finding the right donor was difficult, especially given the strict Australian requirements preventing donors from donating sperm to more than a handful of families. After giving birth to her son, Laura was shocked to discover that they had not received accurate information on how often their chosen donor had previously donated. In fact, their sperm donor was a “serial donor” with over 800+ children!

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Episodes 101-125Tyler EllisGenetic Identity, Infertility, Sperm Donations
Episode 91: Fraudulent Insemination - Maia Emmons-Boring
Episode 91: Fraudulent Insemination - Maia Emmons-Boring

Maia Emmons-Boring was interested in her family’s genealogy and, like millions of others, took an at home DNA test to learn more. Initially, her results did not appear surprising. However, about 6 months later, at a New Year’s Eve party she received a message from Ancestry.com that an unknown sibling was trying to contact her. That message would open a Pandora’s box that she never imagined.

Maia grew up with two younger sisters and wonderful parents. She was born in Colorado but raised in Southern California. Eleven years ago, she left California for Texas. She is married to her high school sweetheart and has four children.

Over the last year and a half, after finding out she was donor-conceived -- and more shockingly, that her mother’s fertility doctor was the “donor” – she has become a fertility fraud activist. She worked with lawmakers in Colorado to successfully pass a fertility fraud bill. She plans on continuing to work with lawmakers in various states and at the federal level to change laws to better protect victims.

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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisGenetic Identity, Legal Issues
Episode 86: NPE (Not Parent Expected) - Kara Rubinstein Deyerin
Episode 86: NPE (Not Parent Expected) - Kara Rubinstein Deyerin

Kara Rubinstein Deyerin is an NPE (not parent expected), mom, wife, Jew, writer, cook, knitter, and connoisseur of all things human. Two years ago she wanted to see where in Africa her father's family came from. Her over-the-counter DNA test revealed she was 50% something, but it wasn't from any African ethnicity. This meant the man on her birth certificate couldn't be her genetic father. She lost her bi-racial identity with the click of a mouse. Kara discovered she was 50% Ashkenazi Jew. The DNA pandora's box she opened led to an identity crisis. She's a passionate advocate for genetic identity rights. Read her blog about being Unexpectedly Jewish (www.UnexpectedlyJewish.com) in Seattle. Kara also co-founded the non-profit organization Right To Know which helps to educate the public and professionals on the complexities of the intersection of genetic information, identity, and family dynamics. Visit www.RightToKnow.us to learn more.

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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisGenetic Identity
Episode 82: Beware of the Home DNA Kit - Danielle Teuscher and Jill Teitel
Episode 82: Beware of the Home DNA Kit - Danielle Teuscher and Jill Teitel

Danielle Teuscher and her spouse struggled with infertility but were successful in conceiving a daughter through the use of donated sperm. Many years later, Danielle and her family, along with her daughter, took at home DNA tests. The results were surprising, and the chain of events that followed were even more so!

Jill Teitel has been an attorney since 1996 and in private practice since 2011. She has a varied legal background from commercial litigation, trusts and estates work, and corporate and international arbitration. Her practice centers around trusts and estates and litigation involving women’s rights and advocacy.

The case of Teuscher v. CCB-NWC, LLC is in ongoing litigation. Anything that Ms. Teuscher or Ms. Teitel stated in this podcast, recorded on February 28, 2020, should not be used for anything other than communication to the public about the Plaintiffs' plight.

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Episodes 76-100Tyler EllisGenetic Identity, Infertility, Legal Issues
Episode 73: Discovering the Sperm Donor Generation -- Scattered Seeds Author Jacqueline Mroz
Episode 73: Discovering the Sperm Donor Generation -- Scattered Seeds Author Jacqueline Mroz

Jacqueline Mroz is a veteran science writer and journalist. Her articles have appeared in the Science section of The New York Times, The New York Post, The Bergen Record, Parents Magazine and New Jersey Monthly Magazine. Jacqueline has been interviewed on national radio shows and television, including The Today Show, about her work. She has taught journalism at Montclair State University and Rutgers University. Her popular New York Times article about a sperm donor with 150 children became the book, Scattered Seeds: In Search of Family and Identity in the Sperm Donor Generation. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey with her husband and three children.

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Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisAuthor, Genetic Identity
Episode 66: There’s No Such Thing As Anonymous Sperm Donation - Wendy Kramer
Episode 66: There’s No Such Thing As Anonymous Sperm Donation - Wendy Kramer

Wendy Kramer is Director of the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR). The DSR is a charity organization, founded in 2000 by Wendy and her donor-conceived son Ryan, to assist individuals conceived as a result of sperm, egg or embryo donation that are seeking to make mutually desired contact with others with whom they share genetic ties. With more than 66,000 members in 105 countries, the DSR has helped to connect more than 17,000 people with their half-siblings and/or their donors. Without any outside support, the DSR has pioneered an international discussion about the donor conception industry and the families, with its research, speaking engagements and media appearances.

Wendy has co-authored numerous published papers on donor-conception, has reviewed abstracts for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and has been a peer reviewer for the journals Human Reproduction and RBM Online. She was Associate Producer on the Style Network's 2011 Emmy nominated show Sperm Donor and on MTV News & Docs, series Generation Cryo, that aired in December 2013. Wendy and her son Ryan have appeared on 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America and many other news shows and publications. Wendy is co-author of the book Finding our Families: A first-of-a-kind Book for Donor Conceived People and Their Families.

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Episodes 51-75Tyler EllisGenetic Identity, Sperm Donations
Episode 57: Free Sperm! Too good to be true? – Kyle Gordy
Episode 57: Free Sperm! Too good to be true? – Kyle Gordy

Our most controversial episode to date. Kyle Gordy (not his real name) is a private sperm donor in Los Angeles, California that has been privately donating his sperm for the last 5 years through social media outlets such as Facebook and Craigslist. Gordy has over 15 genetic children through his private donations. But is this a wise option for hopeful parents, or does this path put Kyle (and all other parties) at legal risk? 

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Episodes 51-75Ashley OldGenetic Identity, Sperm Donations
Episode 50: 3 Dads and The Journey To Find The Truth — Eve Wiley & Steve Scholl
Episode 50: 3 Dads and The Journey To Find The Truth — Eve Wiley & Steve Scholl

Eve Wiley

Eve Wiley, originally from a small rural town in East, Texas, uncovered a life changing family secret about her genetic identity. Becoming a modern day Erin Brockovich, she found purpose for her pain by single handedly lobbying for a fertility fraud bill that passed the Texas House and Senate unanimously and exposed the dark side of the grossly unregulated fertility industry. Eve’s story, documented by ABC’s 20/20, thrust her into an advocacy role for donor conceived rights and women’s reproductive rights. As a licensed professional counselor, she is passionate about the mental health implications of genetic identity family secrets that commercial DNA testing is revealing.

Steven Scholl

Steven Scholl is an independent scholar of Islam and comparative religion. He has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East after doing his graduate studies in Islamic philosophy and history at McGill University. Steve is the founding publisher of White Cloud Press and is the editor of several books including "The Peace Bible:  Words from the Great Traditions" and "Common Era: Best New Writings on Religion." He writes on religion and culture for newspapers and magazines and is a contributor to the "Encyclopedia of Religion" (ed. by Mircea Eliade). His new book is “Muhammad,” co-written with Sam Deeb.

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Episodes 26-50Lindsay JeffersonGenetic Identity