DNA밝혀내는 Technology를 환영해야 할까? 아니면 사생활에 대한 모든 생물학적 비밀이 모두 밝혀져, 감추고 싶은 비밀이 다 폭로된다는 경우를 보면.... 글쎄다.
영국의 한 메디컬닥터 부부가 세계2차 대전동안에 런던에서 의료 행위를 하면서, 많은 그부부의 고객들중에서 아이 갖기를 원하는 사람들에게 비밀리에 그자신의 정자를 제공하여, 그숫자를 헤아려 보니 약 600여명이, 20여년 동안에 태어났을 것으로 믿었었다고 한다. 그부부는 남편의사는 1972년도에, 부인은 1991년에 세상을 떠났다고 한다.
2013년에 Simon Smith씨는 조그만 그릇에 침을 뱉어 23andMe, DNA분석기관에, 그의 가족의 역사를 알아보기를 희망하면서, 보냈었다. "요즘은 DNA분석기술이 월등히 발달하여 이샘플을 의뢰하면서 족보에 대해서 좀더 많이 발견할수 있기를 원했었고, 동시에 나의 건강상태와도 연관성이있는가를 알필요를 느꼈었다."라고 그는 그이유를 설명해 주었었다.
이번 DNA시험은 실질적으로 그가 알고 싶었던 그이상의 가족내력을 밝혀냈었다.
3년간에 걸친 가족내력을 조사하는 와중에 원래의 유전가는 위에서 언급한 영국의 런던에서 세계2차 대전중에 건강보건소를 부부가 운영했었던 분이 그뿌리의 시초라는것을 알게 됐었다. Dr. Mary Barton 와 남편, Bertold Wiesner씨였다.
Adrianne Smith씨는 그녀와 피를 나눈 가족들과 정기적으로 접촉하여 그자신들이 피를 나눈, Adrianne 을 포함한 이복 형제자매들이 서로 피를 혈족인것을 알게 되면서, 지금 캐나다의 자손번식법을 개혁해서, 기증된 정자를 통해서 태어난 후손들이 그기증자들에 대한 정보를 확인할수 있도록 해달라는 청원을 내어놓은 상태라고한다.
'절대적으로 권장할일만은 않인것으로 생각된다.'
Simon씨가 DNA테스트위해 제출하면서, 사람들이 그와 친족관계가 되는분들은 그와 연락해도 좋다는 뜻을 밝힌 조그만 상자를 점검 했었는데, 아마도 4번째 사촌쯤으로 되는 사람들로 부터 몇십통의 메세지를 받았었지만, 그것들을 다 꺼내서 보지는 않았는데, 이유는 그들을 다 추적하는것이 어려웠기 때문이었다.
그러나 2014년 12월에 Simon 은 영국 런던에 거주하는 Lyssa McGowan이라는 여인으로부터 이멜을 받았는데, 그녀는 Simon과 첫번째 사촌임을 밝힌 내용이었었다.
그의 가족 아무도 McGowan에 대한 얘기를 들어본적이 없었는데, 그녀의 얘기를 잘 보면 분명코 상당부분이 신기하게도 많이 친근한 내용들이었었다. DNA테스트 결과에서 Simon 과 McGowan은 Ashkenazi Jewish의 피를 갖고 있었음을 알수 있었다. Adrianne과 McGowan의 어머니, Caryl Blumenthal은 영국에서 태어났었다.
McGowan의 설명에 따르면, 그녀의 엄마는 가족계획의 일환으로 다른 사람의 정자를 제공받아 태어났었다는 것이다. 그러나 그경우는 Adrianne의 경우와는 같지 않을 가능성이 있다는것이다.
그녀의 부모는 Louis 와 Millicent Pitt이다. 1934년 그들이 런던에서 처음 만나 데이트 한 그날밤을 보낸후 2년뒤에 결혼을 한것이다. 아버지 Louis는 재단사였고, 어머니 Millicent는 재봉사 였었다. 아버지는 3번의 심장마비를 앓은후 60대중반에 세상을 떠났다.
아버지 Louis는 아마도, "아무도 반겨하지 않는 혼외정사"를 했었던것 같다 라고, Simon의 자매이면서, 쟈날리스트,Leora Smith씨가 그렇게 추측을 한다.
"영국에 숨겨진 가족이라고? 그곳까지 가고픈 내마음은 없다. 그러나 나의 조부모님들 처럼 love story의 결과가 아닐까?"라고 그녀는 설명해준다.
아버지 Pitt의 건강이 좋지 않았다는점을 고려해 볼때, 정자를 제공했을 것이라고는 쉽게 수긍이 가지 않는다. Adrianne이 최종적으로 Blumenthal에게 통보를 하기전까지 여러달 동안 Simon은 McGowan의 가족들과 몇달동안 이멜을 주고 받았었다. 이멜 내용은 주로 감정, 가족역사,주고받은 말장난과 질문들이 복합된 내용들이었었다.
"나는 고통스럽지는 않았었다. 다만 그것들을 알고싶어하는 마음이 강하게 일었을뿐이었지만 그래도 나는 더 많은 것을 알고 싶다는 느낌이다"라고 75세의 Adrianne씨는 설명한다. 이멜을 주고받은지 몇시간만에 Blumenthal씨는 친절하게 답장을 해주었었고, 그로 부터 둘사이는 빠르게 친구관계를 이어져 갔었다.
2015년에 Adrianne의 딸 Louise가 Mary Barton에 대한 기록물을 하나 발견했는데, 그녀는 1940년부터 1960년대까지 그녀의 남편,Bertold Wiesner함께 영국 런던에서 여러개의 클리닉을 운영하면서 정자은행도 운영했었다는 내용이었다.
영화제작자 Barry Stevens씨는 생물학적으로 그의 아버지가 누구인가를 찾기위해 수년간을 노력했었는데,런던에서 클리닉을 운영하는 Barton 과 Wiesner를 만나게 됐었다.
그 이론을 시험하기위해, 그는 이부부의 아들을 추적하여 만난후 DNA테스트를 해보고 싶다고 문의했었는데, 결과는 그들은 이복 형제들임이 확인된 것이다.
시간이 흐르면서, 68세의 Stevens씨는 Wiesner씨가 생물학적으로 600명 이상의 아이를 그들의 클리닉을 통해서 탄생시킨것과 연관되여 있는것을 알게되고, 이사실을 2개의 기록영화로 만들었었다. 그이름은 "Offspring and Bio-Dad."
Barton 과Wiesner씨는 클리닉을 운영하면서, 정자 기증자들로 부터 정자를 수집했는데 대상자들은 주로 중산층인, 경찰, 자날리스트 들이었다고 한다. 그러나 기증받은 2/3이상은, 클리닉을 운영하면서 Wiesner자신의 정자로 잉태시킨것으로 믿겨진다고 했다.
Barry Stevens씨가 그의 아버지가 생물학적으로 서로 같지않은것을 발견하고, 그는 긴여행을하면서, 그의 이복형제 자매들을 발견하고, 정자를 기증한 남자가 생물학적으로 아버지가 된다는것을 알게 된다. Barry씨는 그진실을 밝혀 냈는데, 대략 600명이상의 이복 자손들이 태어나 살고있다는것이다.
이 기막힌 혈육찾기를 보면서, 우리의 역사를 잠시 들춰봤다. 임진왜란, 병자호란들의 난리를 격으면서, 우리의 조상님들의 진짜 혈통을 찾기위한 DNA Test하게 된다면.....하는 엉뚱한 생각도 해 봤다.
자세한 내용은 원문을 참조 하면 좋을것 같다.
In 2013, Simon Smith spat into a vial and sent it off to DNA analysis service 23andMe to hopefully learn more about his family history.
"I thought the technology was cool and I wanted to find out more about my biology and then take any necessary actions related to my health," he said.
That DNA test ended up revealing far more than he bargained for.
It set his family down a three-year path to discovering that their genetic origins were connected to a pioneering fertility clinic in London, England, during the Second World War. It was run by Dr. Mary Barton and her husband, Bertold Wiesner, who died in 1991 and 1972 respectively.
Wiesner clandestinely provided his own sperm to many of their clients, and is believed to be linked to up to 600 children born over the span of about two decades — including Simon's mother, Adrianne Smith.
Now Adrianne communicates regularly with several of her extended family of half-siblings, who collectively refer to themselves as "halfies." Some of them, Adrianne included, have been calling for reforms to Canada's reproductive laws so that people conceived through the use of donated material can obtain more information about their donors.
'It seemed totally implausible'
When Simon submitted his DNA test, he checked a box that allowed people who discovered they are related to him to contact him.
He received dozens of messages from supposed fourth-cousins, but eventually stopped opening them because he couldn't possibly keep up.
But then in December 2014, Simon received an email from Lyssa McGowan, a woman living in England who claimed to be his first cousin.
No one else in his family had ever heard of McGowan, but some of her story seemed unusually familiar. The DNA tests revealed both Simon and McGowan were predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish. Both Adrianne and McGowan's mother, Caryl Blumenthal, were born in the U.K.
McGowan said her mother was born through an assisted fertility program. But that didn't seem possible in Adrianne's case.
Her parents were Louis and Millicent Pitt. Louis asked Millicent on a date the night they met in London in 1934, and they married two years later. Millicent was a seamstress; Louis was a tailor. He died in his sixties after his third heart attack.
That Louis might have had a secret affair seemed "totally implausible," said journalist Leora Smith, Simon's sister.
"A secret family in England? You can't help your mind going there," she said. "But with a love story like my grandparents'?"
Given Pitt's poor health, it didn't make sense for him to be recruited as a sperm donor, either.
Simon emailed back and forth with McGowan's family for months before Adrianne finally wrote to Blumenthal. Her email was a mix of emotions, family history, puns, and questions.
"I wasn't distressed. But I did feel intensely curious," said Adrianne, 75, who lives in Toronto. "And I did want to know more."
Within hours of receiving the email, Blumenthal responded in kind. The two became fast friends.
The search for 'Bio Dad'
During their conversations, Blumenthal remembered the name Barton — though she wasn't sure who or what it signified.
Then in early 2015, Adrianne's daughter Louise found a documentary about Mary Barton, who ran a fertility clinic with multiple offices in London from the 1940s to 1960s with her husband Bertold Wiesner.
Filmmaker Barry Stevens had spent years trying to identify his own biological father, which led him to Barton and Wiesner's clinic in London.
To test out a theory, he tracked down the couple's son and asked if he would take a DNA test. The test revealed they were half-brothers.
Over time, Stevens, 68, found that Wiesner was genetically linked to up to 600 children connectd to the clinic. He documented his journey in two films, Offspring and Bio-Dad.
Barton and Wiesner said they gathered donors from middle-class professionals such as policemen and journalists, according to Stevens. But it is believed that Wiesner himself supplied the sperm for roughly two-thirds of their clinic's cases.
'This is playing with nature'
Stevens spoke to a handful of women who met Barton — and they all recall her telling them to keep the procedure a secret.
They had good reason to do so. In 1945, Barton and Wiesner caused an uproar when the British Medical Journal published an article they wrote about their work.
"There were inquiries. They [British parliament] were talking about criminalizing [artificial insemination]. This is adultery. This is awful. This is playing with nature," said Stevens.
In 1948, a religious commission put together by the Archbishop of Canterbury concluded artificial insemination was a "breach of marriage" and "wrong in principle and contrary to Christian standards."
In 1958, a House of Lords committee said donor-conceived children should be considered "illegitimate" and framed artificial insemination with donor sperm as an "offence against society."
Stevens wasn't sure whether Barton knew her husband was donating most of the sperm —but if she did, it was all the more reason to demand secrecy.
Revelations
Adrianne's family reached out to Stevens. It turned out he lived just a 20-minute drive away. The two met in the spring of 2016 and took more DNA tests. They revealed that Adrianne and Stevens — and, by extension, Caryl Blumenthal — were half-siblings.
Bertold Wiesner was Adrianne's biological father.
"That's how I found out for sure," she said. "I was not related to my dad."
The revelation raised a pile of new questions for Adrianne. How did her parents learn about the fertility clinic? Did they go more than once? Was her mother apprehensive at all, considering how taboo the process was at the time?
But her feelings about the father who raised her never changed.
"If he knew that I was donor-conceived, he didn't love me any less for that," she said. "I couldn't replace the love that I'd always felt from him. Why would I want to lose that?"
In the last five years, Adrianne has found more than 40 half-siblings ranging in age from their 50s to 70s. She said there's often a bump in new connections after Christmas — many people get DNA tests as gifts.
They keep in touch over email, and have developed a protocol for welcoming new people. Some who hear the story are excited and join the group. Others never respond.
Geraldine, Adrianne's only sister growing up, is among those who have no interest in taking a DNA test of her own,
"I was shocked that she referred to them as her brothers and sisters," Geraldine said of Adrianne's relationship with the "halfies" clan.
"It made me feel a bit betrayed. You know, I was her sister. Nobody else."
Geraldine is certain she's the daughter of the man she always knew as her father.
"The truth is that she and my cousins do look a lot like him," Leora said. "For her, that's enough."
The right to your 'genetic identity'
After discovering that she might have been among the first donor-conceived children in England, Adrianne is now part of a growing political movement.
She's plugged into the Donor-Conceived Alliance of Canada, which advocates for a ban on anonymous sperm and egg donations, and is calling for the long-term preservation of donor medical records.
Last year, Canada updated its regulations on assisted reproduction. Now, donors have to answer a questionnaire about their health — but the information is only required to be preserved for 10 years.
That means a donor-conceived child, or their parents, would need to request that health history by the time they are 10 years old.
Adrianne was never supposed to know her biological father's identity. But to her, having these answers and finding her half-siblings has been overwhelmingly joyful.
She's not ashamed of what she learned about her origins, and doesn't begrudge her parents for not telling her. But she would have liked it if she were able to talk to them about it.
"I would love to be able to say, 'It worked out. We're OK, you know, you did a good thing.'"
Written by Jonathan Ore. The radio documentary "Inconceivable" was produced by Leora Smith and Alison Cook.
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