One of the arguments that I have heard against DI is the idea of not knowing how many children have been conceived with your donor and the thought that Ben may somehow end up dating his sister. I don't know how this is an even halfway rational argument.
First, most banks have a limit as to how many children may be conceived with one donor and once they hit the magic number, the rest of the specimens are reserved for families who already have a child via that donor. (I'm not talking about that one donor who donates for free (and very frequently) on his own and has resulted of who knows how many pregnancies. If you are on any of the DI boards, I'm sure you know who I mean.)
Second, there are many sperm banks throughout the country and it is very easy to use a bank that is outside of your geographical area. Of course, other families are likely doing the same but the odds of you both using the same donor and same bank AND also be near each other are very slim.
Third, just look at the overall odds. We're talking a small handful of children that share some genes. Louis comes from a huge family (we're talking triple digits when we count all of the siblings, nieces/nephews, cousins) and he has never accidentally bumped into a relative through his travels of the US. Even when he lived only an hour from a large group of them, they never crossed paths. I can't imagine the odds would be any better for the DI kids.
I think this is just another unfounded worry. If anyone has "bumped" into another donor family, I'd like to hear about it.
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