The Donor: The Story of a Modern American Family

Nate walked into a clinic at age 19 and donated sperm for extra cash and now, at age 50, he has over 85 donor-conceived offspring. Nate's eldest donor conceived offspring is Kianni, and she grew up with two step-brothers, but when their parents split, she lost them. Feeling lonely, she sought out her donor conceived siblings and started a community of found family of 85 siblings (and counting). This is the story of Nate's choice and Kianni's dogged pursuit of family.

Nate Dorn was an average college kid who needed extra money so he walked into a clinic and donated sperm. He was told that his donation would be used for 20 families and then retired. Now, over thirty years later, he has over 80 donor conceived children. The eldest of which is Kianni. When her mom split up from a partner, Kianni lost her step-brothers. She went out into the world to find her donor siblings and has assembled a community of 80+ siblings. We will explore what drives Kianni to seek out this family, and see how her fellow siblings interact with her and one another. A majority of these families came out of the clinic breaking its initial deal with a 19 year old Nate, as his sample seemingly was never retired due. We will explore how the fertility industry's failure led to so many flourishing families.

Project website: https://www.somewhereinutah.com/the-donor

Jason Piccolo | Producer/Director

Mehmet Çağlayan | Cinematographer

Ashley Bowen, PhD | Producer

Ben Allen | Editor / Post-Production Supervisor