The Donor: The Story of a Modern American Family

At nineteen, Nate Dorn donated sperm, and by fifty, he has 88 donor-conceived children. The Donor follows Kianni, his eldest, seeking her siblings, exploring how minimal oversight shaped queer family formation in the ’90s, and raising complex emotional, ethical, and legal questions without judging the fertility industry or technology.

At nineteen years old Nate walked into a sperm bank and donated for extra money for college. There he was told that his donations would be used for 20 family units and then promptly retired.

Now at age fifty, he has close to ninety donor conceived offspring…And counting. With no kids of his own, Nate has the unique opportunity to embrace this offbeat family or silently keep his distance.

Kianni is the eldest of Nate's offspring. She grew up with two step-brothers but when the parents split up, she was left without them. Lonely, she sought out her donor conceived siblings and started a community of found family of nearly ninety siblings…and counting.

In the 1990s, the fertility business took aim at a new demographic and made their services available to queer couples and single moms by choice. This shrewd observation of where the future was heading resulted in a baby boom to same sex couples. Now, with consumer-grade genetic testing loaded on to every iPhone and the anonymous nature of many of those donors eliminated, families struggle to come to terms with what their donor means to them.

This is the story of Nate's complicated choice, Kianni's dogged pursuit of family, and the fertility industry's shadowy motivations for creating so many families.

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donor.doc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Donor-The-Story-of-a-Modern-American-Family/61583914574985/

Jason Piccolo | Producer/Director

Mehmet Çağlayan | Cinematographer

Ashley Bowen, PhD | Producer

Ben Allen | Editor / Post-Production Supervisor