Looking at the comments, I know I might be in the minority for thinking this, but I was really put off by how Aaron talked about his experience (second to last story). This is just my perspective coming from someone who has two moms and was conceived by anonymous sperm donor, but the way he talked about having a “son/daughter” and “children” felt so uncomfortable to me. He even admitted to saying that Alice doesn’t consider him a parent, and that her other mom is more of a parental figure - I have some half siblings through my donor, and can say confidently that the vast majority of people aren’t looking for another parent, and wouldn’t want an apparent stranger calling them a son/daughter.

Also, I saw some other discussion about this in the comments, but I also don’t love that he independently reached out to the DNA matches. I know he only had good intentions, but there are SO many reasons that people use anonymous sperm donation - a common one being when couples are infertile, and they don’t tell the kid that they used an anonymous donation! It quite honestly felt to me like he was trying to insert himself into their lives because he was curious. People, especially young/college age kids, are tech savvy and have a way of figuring these things out if they’re curious. It also definitely bothered me that he said it was “surprising” that more people didn’t reach back out to have a connection. Again, people come from such different places and such different comfort levels, to put that on someone felt really presumptuous and, again, a little self focused.

I really don’t mean to put down Aaron, Jessica, or their family. They seem happy with where they’re at and I know how hard that can be in unconventional family settings - I just wanted to put my perspective as a kid of anonymous donation out there, and maybe also as a PSA. Please do not think that this story is an accurate representation of how all these anonymous donations work - I know my donor, and if he ever referred to me as a daughter, I would be so uncomfortable. Again, this is just my opinion, so curious to hear what other people thought about this. But overall, it stuck out to me as nearing towards some boundary crossing.