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We only found out we had the same sperm donor dad when were in our 20s
We only found out we had the same sperm donor dad when were in our 20s 4 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Gemma Dunstan Wales Investigates Natasha, Gemma and Helen say they're "inseparable" after discovering that they are sisters Natasha, Gemma and Helen grew up believing they knew who their dads were. It was only decades later, after taking DNA tests, that it was revealed they were all conceived using the same Welsh sperm donor. As they were conceived before regulations were introduced in 1991, they said they were part of the generation of children created during sperm donation's "Wild West" period. They call themselves "sperm sisters" and together are exploring their new found sisterhood and described meeting for the first time as "like a fairy tale, it felt so magical – there were tears of joy". Gemma Hicks Helen and Gemma only discovered the truth behind their conception when they were in their late 20s Gemma and Helen Hicks grew up together in Berkshire and they thought their dad who raised them was their biological father. It was only in their late 20s they found out they had been created using a sperm donor, but had no idea if it was the same one as records were limited when they were conceived. "Back then sperm donation was a Wild West and many parents were told to raise the child as their own, they were conditioned to not say." said Gemma, 36, who lives in Surrey. It wasn't until August 1991 that the UK's fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) was created and guidance was introduced. A DNA test not only confirmed they had the same biological dad, but it also introduced them to other new sisters. "I physically felt different, I felt like I didn't know who I was and I began to question every tiny thing that I did, wondering if it was down to my genetics," said Gemma. For 35-year-old Helen, who lives in Hampshire, after the initial shock, the news bought her a sense of clarity. "I had a really weird overwhelming sense of calm wash over me, I look back at certain points in my life and suddenly things made a lot of sense to me." Natasha Goldstein-Opasiak Natasha did not find out she was donor-conceived until she was in her 20s They've since connected with two more sisters from the same donor, one of whom is Natasha Goldstein-Opasiak 36, who lives in Essex. She found out she was donor-conceived at 21 but didn't take a DNA test until she was 31. "I did it because I was really fascinated to find out what made up the other half of me. Never in a million year did I think I'd find siblings," she said. "You get an email notification saying you've got relatives, essentially. It's literally like Tinder, it says you've matched - here are your half sisters." Helen and Gemma reached out to Natasha and within a month had agreed to meet. "We always say that we were drawn together like magnets," said Gemma. "I think within a minute of sitting down at the table with Nat, we realised we talk the same way, w