In this episode of DNA Clarity and Support, Brianne talks with Jen Jacober, a genetic counselor who brings a deeply personal perspective to her work. Jen is a late-discovery donor-conceived person, and she opens up about what it was like to learn this truth as an adult—and how that experience has shaped her understanding of herself and influenced her professional practice.
Our conversation explores the intersection of personal experience and genetic counseling, offering insight into what it means to navigate both sides of the story: as the helper and the helped, the counselor and the client, the DNA test consumer and genetics educator.
This episode covers:
the impact on Jen’s professional work as a genetic counselor after her donor conception discovery
memories from the conversation with her mom
online therapy sessions to work through the discovery
advice for parents who need to share about donor conception with their adult child
meeting other genetic counselors who are also DCPs
the challenge and need for continuing education for genetic counselors on donor conception issues
the status of her relationship with her mom
experiencing the loss of her father
identifying and communicating with her egg donor
Read Jen’s guest blog post and reach out to her if you’d like to connect.
Resources mentioned in this episode include Donor Sibling Registry and MPEcounseling.org, the latter being a directory of counselors and therapists specializing in supporting clients through their DNA and misattributed parentage discoveries.
Like what you heard today? Drop us a comment to let us know what you liked about this episode and hope to hear from future episodes!
A note for parents: Need help preparing to share about donor conception with your adult child? Read more here, and reach out to Watershed DNA for help.
Sharing with your child about their donor conception is important, and you don’t have to go it alone!