This story originally aired on October 26, 2019.
Suzan Mazor was fully in mid-life when her mother made a surprising revelation. "You were conceived by sperm donation," she remembers her mother saying, "and I believe that the OB who delivered you was also the sperm donor."
Whilesome people who learn this news are devastated, Suzan's response was, she says, characteristic for her. "I'm just a very open minded person, and I thought it was cool."
After learning as much as she could from her mother, Suzan launched into a quest to fill in the missing pieces of her genetic story. She used sites like 23andMe, which does genetic testing and analysis, and Donor Sibling Registry, which connects donor-conceived children to those who might be their genetic relatives, and eventually she found a match: a half-sibling 16 years her senior, named Arlene.
One of the indicators that they were related? Arlene also thought the news was pretty cool.
This is the story of how the two met, what they learned about their origins, and why they think learning that you're donor conceived doesn't have to be a sad story.
