Roundtable with MPE Facebook Support Group Moderators

Cassandra Adams (Adoptees, NPEs, DC & Other Genetic Identity Seekers), Jeff Hancock (Forum for Late-Discovery Adoptees), and Lisa Cole (DNA Surprises) discuss what they’ve learned as moderators of misattributed parentage Facebook support groups. Check out Right to Know’s Facebook Support Groups: DNA Identity Surprise & This MPE Life, Cross-Cultural Connections from a DNA Surprise, and MPE Jewish Identity and DNA Surprises.

Cassandra is a late-discovery transethnic sperm donor-conceived person working on awareness of issues surrounding donor conception. Her focus includes educating parents on best practices, advancing legislative changes for reforming the fertility industry, writing, speaking, performing, and other creative outlets, delving into the emotional impact and ethics of donor conception, particularly the trauma of late discovery, exploring the complexities of finding significant ethnicity changes and revealing the dynamics of families dealing with secrecy. She moderates numerous online communities.

Moderator of DONOR CONCEIVED PEOPLE, SIBLINGS, PARENTS, AND DONORS (SPERM, EGG, EMBRYO) is the largest group for all members of the ART triad, providing progressive education and insight into the world of donor conception, and NPE FRIENDS – JEWISH HERITAGE for those whose discovery of misattributed parentage has impacted their connection with the Jewish ethno-religion.

Lisa discovered a half-sister that had been given up for adoption before I was born! DNA SURPRISES is a FaceBook based support group she created because she didn’t know where to turn!

We allow NPE as well as other types of surprises. We also welcome loved ones because they need to understand the struggle. She thinks it’s important to see someone else’s perspective of the situation! That is why we all are in the same core group instead of breaking up into sub-groups. Her hope is that seeing another perspective will facilitate healing and understanding!

Moderator of DNA SURPRISES which is a place to come and talk/discuss your surprise DNA results from Ancestry, 23 and Me, and other services. Maybe you found out you are NPE or you have a sister or brother you never knew about! Some people even find out about an aunt or uncle or even a grandparent. It could have happened to you personally or to a loved one. For some of us, it’s exciting news…but for others, it’s confusing and devastating! Either way, let’s talk about it and try to heal.

n 2007 Jeff was nearing his 42nd birthday when he discovered that he was adopted. His discovery has since evolved into a never-ending search for self and includes the quest for equal Original Birth Certificate access for all adopted people. Jeff’s purpose as an adoptee rights activist is to call upon all adoptees, our families (both birth and adoptive), our children, our siblings, our spouses, lawmakers, and agencies that currently provide adoption services, to unite in support of our search for identity.

Moderator of FORUM FOR LATE-DISCOVERY ADOPTEES (LDAs) which is a private space for adoptees of the late-discovery variety to meet, share, support, and bond.