When Shauna Harrison was 27 years old, she learned that the man who raised her was not her biological father. Harrison, who has a Ph.D. in public health, sent a sample of her DNA to the ancestry site 23andMe to determine if she was susceptible to any diseases.
"I had been asking questions about my health and blood type," Harrison told KGO. "Because of my background in public health, I wanted to find out if I am more susceptible to certain things. I lead a pretty healthy lifestyle as it is, but I just want to know."
She learned that her father was a Jewish man of Russian descent who lived in the Bay Area. Not long after Harrison got her test results, she started receiving emails from people who claimed to be her siblings. It turns out Harrison's biological father was a sperm donor, and she has 29 brothers and sisters. The ages of her siblings range between 24 and 41 years old.
Harrison said that some of her siblings tracked down their biological father and have been in touch with him. The siblings try to get together and keep in touch using a private Facebook group. Her extended family keeps growing as more and more people learn the identity of their biological father. She says that in the last month, she learned of three other people who she was related to.
"It's just non-stop. I don't think this is going to be it. I think it's just going to continually happen, probably for the rest of my life," says Harrison.