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“We had a monogamous relationship.” Gift DNA tests give paternity surprises and lawsuits

2022-01-09T13:57:58.110Z


DNA tests like 23andMe and Ancestry.com are leading to surprising paternity discoveries for some families. These are their stories.


By Zoe Schiffer -

NBC News

Vanner Johnson's wife, Donna, had bought the 23andMe take-home genetic testing kit for fun.

But when her husband received 23andMe results from his family in August 2019, he noticed something strange.

Her 11-year-old son, Tim, was not listed as her biological relative.

The couple soon learned that the hospital where Donna had undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) 12 years earlier had likely mixed the sperm samples.

Vanner was not Tim's biological father.

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"There were a lot of unanswered questions," Donna said.

"We had no idea who our son's biological father was."

When the Johnsons finally located Tim's biological father early last year, using a second DNA test and some strategic Google searches, they learned that it had been another patient at the fertility clinic.

“It was actually almost reassuring when we found out it was another patient, it was like, 'at least it wasn't the doctor,” Donna explained.

The Johnson story is one of many parenting secrets that have come to light in recent years as the popularity of take-home genetic testing has exploded.

In September and October 2021, 23andMe website sales soared more than 47%, according to data from analytics firm Bloomberg Second Measure.

Some fertility attorneys have reported more such cases after family members gave away these tests at parties.

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"I've seen a substantial increase in these cases in recent years," said Adam B. Wolf, an attorney specializing in fertility fraud lawsuits.

"Our clients usually call in February, after receiving the results of the home DNA tests they receive for the holidays."

Medical non-compliance

In 2020, Beverly Willhelm, one of Wolf's clients, filed a lawsuit against her fertility doctor, Phillip M. Milgram, after discovering that he had used her own sperm to fertilize her, rather than from an anonymous donor. 

Like Vanner Johnson, Willhelm found out what happened after his son took a 23andMe test.

"The plaintiff's son is the result of a medical violation," the lawsuit says.

"The plaintiff is shocked and devastated by the defendant's abuse of power to violate her trust," he adds.

Milgram's attorney, Curtis Greer, did not respond to a request for comment by phone and email.

But the case is scheduled for a jury trial on April 29. 


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Most of the paternity discoveries that have made headlines in recent years follow a similar pattern.

“We have represented about two dozen women who went to their fertility doctor hoping to get sperm from someone they knew or from an anonymous donor, only to find out, either through 23andMe or Ancestry.com, that the doctor took the freedom to introduce his own sperm into his unsuspecting patients without permission or consent.

It's a serious invasion of bodily autonomy, ”Wolf said.

In a statement, 23andMe Communications Director Andy Kill said: “With genetic testing readily available to consumers,

we are hearing more and more stories of families discovering and reuniting with newly found relatives

, and clients finding unexpected results in your reports ”.

"Although 23andMe was not specifically designed to help people confirm their relationship or find their biological parents, our DNA Relatives tool helps people find and connect with their participating genetic relatives," he adds.

"This feature is completely optional, which means that customers must actively choose to participate and are informed in advance that, by using the tool, they may discover unexpected relationships," he concludes.

Vanner Johnson holds their newborn son, Tim, while their brother, Vanner, accompanies them.Courtesy of Vanner Johnson

The company also said its customer service team is specifically trained to help customers who learn of unexpected family members through the use of the service.

Track paternity

In 2020, Tim Johnson had a second DNA test done, this time through Ancestry.com.

Through that test, he ended up connecting with Devin McNeil, a father of three who lives in Colorado, and he called him.

"We may have something in common because of IVF," he told Devin.

Vanner asked if McNeil and his wife, Kelly, had undergone IVF through the University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine.

He answered yes.

The couple realized that they had probably been to the clinic on the same day in 2007. 

"Every piece of information was really unfolded without question, time, evidence," Devin said.

"So it wasn't long before it was hard not to believe it."

The University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. 

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Now the McNeils face a similar dilemma: what to say to their children, ages 13, 8 and 6.

Like the Johnsons, they opted for honesty.

“We had to explain to our younger children that sometimes mom and dad need help having babies and they do it outside of the body,” Kelly said.

“And we explain IVF to them in simple terms.

And that a mistake was made in the laboratory and a baby was made with the eggs of another woman ”.

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The McNeils underwent a DNA test to confirm that their son, conceived through IVF, was biologically related to Devin.

And it was.

The confusion, it seemed, had only occurred on one side.

The McNeils' children were all biologically his children.

In an emailed statement to NBC News, Ancestry spokeswoman Katherine Wylie said: “AncestryDNA helps people gain a new level of understanding about their lives by combining advanced DNA science with the largest history resource. Family Online World to Estimate Genetic Ethnicity and Help Users Find New Family Connections. "

Anonymous donors

Even in cases where the donor is truly anonymous and unknown to the woman who becomes pregnant, DNA kits can raise thorny ethical questions.

Nara Milanich, a Barnard College history professor and author of Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father, says that the ease of discovering a person's paternity could discourage them from donating sperm. 

"The commercialization of this technology has thrown open these questions around the ethics of paternity discovery," he said.

“I am not going to go into saying whether people should have an unlimited right to know DNA or not.

But I will say that we have not had a public conversation addressing those issues.

You can buy these tests anywhere and give them away at Christmas, and that probably won't change. "

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The United States has been quick to adopt this new technology, but has been slow to address the privacy concerns it brings, Milanich added.

This is partly because take-home test kits are not subject to the same regulations as medical tests, according to Wired.

As such, they do not have to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which would require them to maintain the privacy of their clients' genetic data.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website, the agency does not regulate testing for "non-medical, general wellness, or low medical risk" purposes.

A 23andMe Ancestry + Traits Service DNA kit.Tiffany Hagler-Geard / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Although the FDA does not warn consumers about the potential for error in these tests, it advises consumers to "use judgment when requesting and interpreting the results of these tests" because genetic testing companies can produce mixed results.

“In France, DNA tests are strictly limited.

You can only do a DNA test with the order of a judge, ”says Milanich. 

Things could be starting to change.

In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Genetic Information Privacy Act, which requires direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies to tell you how your data will be collected and used.

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Both Utah and Arizona passed similar laws earlier this year.

They won't change the ease with which people can access DNA data, but they could slow down the way DNA testing companies like 23andMe can use the data. 

Alex Stack, a Newsom spokesman, referred NBC News to the California Department of Health, which said in a statement that the legislation would allow consumers to revoke their consent regarding the use of their genetic information, and would force companies to destroy the consumer's biological sample within 30 days of receipt of this request.

The statement notes that the law seeks to allow consumers "to control their genetic data without fear of third parties exploiting it."

Looking to the future

In June, the Johnson and McNeil families decided to meet in person in a Utah park.

Tim sent Devin a list of questions ahead of time: “How tall were you when you finished ninth grade?

Did you have weak baby teeth?

Do you have your belly button in or out? ”. 

Devin joked that he had been concerned about the questions before the meeting, but quickly realized that he "didn't have to study."

The Vanner and McNeil families at their first meeting Courtesy of Vanner Johnson.

“I think the thing Tim was most excited about was knowing that Devin was 1.90 meters, because I'm five feet tall and we knew he wasn't going to get any height from me,” Vanner said.

"So now he has hope," he added.

While 23andMe includes a warning label in its results regarding DNA relatives ("By participating in DNA Relatives, you may discover unexpected relationships. Although not common, these discoveries could affect you and your family").

Donna Johnson said she never anticipated the results.

“We had a monogamous relationship.

There was no question.

So we went into this very naively, "he explained. 

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Both families are preparing lawsuits against the University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine. 

In the meantime, they encourage everyone who has undergone IVF to get a DNA test.

Of course, if they are prepared for the results. 

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2022-01-09

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