Your ancestors had only one way of producing a child. Today, technology has enabled children to be produced by sperm donation. A married couple in the Netherlands are using donated sperm from the husband’s father so that the couple can have a baby. This greatly alters the kinship terms that would normally be applied to a family. Sperm donation is an option that a couple, or a woman who is single, can use in order to conceive a child. People choose this method for a variety of reasons. A woman who is single may want to become a mother without … Continue reading →

Today, genealogists seek out vital records that can help them to determine who the father of a particular ancestor was. Technology has changed in ways that could impact the way that future genealogists do this type of research. Sperm donation, the use of frozen sperm, and paternity testing could make things a bit more complicated. What happens when you aren’t sure about who the father of your great-great-great-great- Uncle George was? You start doing some genealogy research. One way to answer this question is to locate his birth certificate. Both of his parents should be listed on it. What if … Continue reading →