So long 2010....Hello Twenty-Eleven!! I am definitely not sad to see 2010 leave us and I am confident that 2011 will be much luckier. This is the year that.......well, you'll just have to wait and see! So many things are going in my life right now - both personally and in regards to donor conception. It's like watching a movie, and I'm anxious to see how it ends!! But of course, the end is simply just the beginning.......
I hope that 2011 will be a promising year to build more of the DNA database. Currently we are experiencing some "technical difficulties", as Damian and I are beginning to question the validity of using CODIS markers to establish any sort of donor-conceived/half-sibling relationship. I will discuss this more in the future, but the bottom line is that the algorithms used in calculating the siblingship index (both what we are using and what professional DNA testing companies are using) are producing false positives among DC adults...likely to do with the randomness associated with how DC adults seek siblings. Again, more later when I have more time to discuss it. This also makes me wary of any professional test result that claims half-siblingship - especially when neither mother's DNA is present. This sheds some significant light on the UKDL situation and may explain why they have set such a high threshold (99% probability).
Please email me if you are thinking about doing a DNA CODIS marker profile/test solely to add to the database, as at this point I have some other options that I feel are a better investment. However, I would be happy to take any DNA results from previously done tests, as always. We can surely add them to the current database and the more results we have the better chance we have at finding a feasible algorithm that is both inclusive enough to allow offspring to find siblings but at the same time exclusive enough that there will be minimal heartbreak from false positives.
So anyways, onto what I originally meant to blog about here. Talking to one of my DC guy friends last week about something unrelated to DC, I suggested to him to take the Myers-Briggs (Jungian) Typology Indicator Test. This conversation led me to ponder if there is a common personality thread among DC adults who are seeking their biological kin. Is there a certain function (for more info about the MBTI and Jung's functions) that is present or dominant that lends itself to offspring being more concerned or interested about these things. I have a hypothesis..........
It's well documented that there is a HUGE spectrum of views among offspring, even those with similar conceptions/family dynamics. DI moms and the infertility industry try to claim that it all has to do with how we were raised and "all you need is love", and for some that ID-release donors are the solution and solve all the world's problems. I don't buy it one bit. I believe that as human beings we have an innate personality and while it can be shaped to an extent based on environment, certain things are just there. My theory is that this "need to know" is tied to our hard-wired personality and therefore parents need to get over their irrational fears and understand that their child may or may not want to know their biological father/mother or siblings and it is not a reflection on good or bad parenting.
Participate in the Donor Conceived MBTI Survey [Offspring ONLY please!!]
Step 1: Take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test (remember your 4 letter type)
Step 2: Fill out brief anonymous Survey (includes some basic demographic information, several questions about your views on donor conception and searching, and finally your MBTI type)
The MBTI test takes approximately 10 minutes. The survey can be completed in several minutes at the most.
I'll blog more later about this idea and more about the MBTI and what it means when I have more free time. This is going to be a chaotic month, but hopefully come February things will have died down and I'll have more time and energy to blog.
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