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19m 30s

What happened when a sperm donor met his...

THE TIMES
About this episode

In 1992, Helen Down's brother Richard was studying for a master’s in artificial intelligence at Cardiff University. There, he had a brief side hustle as a sperm donor - a confession he'd only made to his family as an adult. Through a DNA website, the link was made and Helen met her niece and nephew for the first time in 2024 - the product of her brother’s sperm donation 30 years ago. So, what exactly happened at at the family reunion? And how did these new family members unlock an even bigger mystery?


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Read by: Helen Down.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

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Read more: What happened when a sperm donor met his unknown kids

Photo: Tim Jobling, Duncan Elliot for The Times Magazine.

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