PORTLAND, Ore. — Several Portland families have discovered that their children are actually related. Call it fate or coincidence, but each family chose the same sperm donor.
There is an actual a term for donor siblings -- "diblings." The parents we talked to say their family quickly grew larger than they expected, but they say the more people who love their kids the better.
Meet Max and Lux. These two babies have a connection.
“They instantly were so curious about each other. Maybe we're reading into it a little more, but we want to read into it because it's so fun and so special,” said Abby Dotson.
Not only are they best of friends, it turns out, they are half-brothers.
Both sets of parents were initially unaware of the connection. Lizzie Keith and her partner were pregnant after a visit to the Seattle Sperm Bank. Another couple they knew had just been through the same process.
“She said something about how they picked their donor and it sounded really familiar to how Steph and I did. So I was like 'Wait, who is your donor?' and we all sort of looked at each other and started crying. We were like 'Oh my gosh our babies will be related',” said Lizzie.
The couples then found out there are more out there.
“We have one up in Seattle, one in Idaho. Everyone else is all over the world. We have siblings in Sweden, Germany, Australia, Canada, there are probably like 20 some kids or something. The donor was apparently a busy guy,” said Lizzie.
Lizzie says it was a note on his profile that made him a popular choice.
“He grew up with two brothers that were born to a lesbian couple so it was important to him since he had the ability to help out in an easy way. To give the gift of love and give someone a family.”
That's exactly what happened.
“Jen and I are from the Midwest and we don't have any family here. But we love living in Portland so this is so nice it's like and instant family,” said Abby.
Max and Lux will have plenty of playmates to choose from.
The donor's mother has met many of the children and the couples we talked to have met the donor's nieces and nephews. The babies will have the option of meeting the donor when they turn 18.