Embodied

One Sperm Donor, 31 Half Siblings & A Long Search For Identity

By Kaia Findlay,

Published August 22, 2025 at 1:01 PM EDT

Illustration of three smiling people standing between the vertical bars of a large DNA double helix, as if the strands are columns. The word “Embodied” is written in bold green letters at the top. The background is a gradient of peach to blue with dotted patterns.

More than a million people in the U.S. have used donor sperm in the past three decades. One donor-conceived person shares his story of searching for biological family members and what he learned while on that journey.

Ryan Kramer was born through an anonymous sperm donor in 1990. By the time he was 2 years old, he already had some big questions about his identity — and the desire to find answers.

Ryan’s search led him to become the first donor-conceived person to find his biological parent through DNA testing. He also co-founded the Donor Sibling Registry, an organization that’s helped connect tens of thousands of donor-conceived people with their biological family.

He tells host Anita Rao about meeting many of his own genetic relatives and what this journey has taught him about the meaning of those relationships.

Read the transcript

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Embodied Embodied Radio Show

Kaia Findlay

Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first joined the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.

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Anita Rao

Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.

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Amanda Magnus

Amanda Magnus is the executive producer of Embodied, a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships and health. She has also worked on other WUNC shows including Tested and CREEP.

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Wilson Sayre

Wilson Sayre is WUNC's Director of Digital Content leading our podcasting strategy and initiatives. She has worn many hats in the audio world as an editor, producer, consultant and team lead. Wilson was Managing Producer at Pushkin (previously Transmitter Media) where she helped launch shows like Am I Normal, the TED Interview and The Heist. Before that, she served as Executive Producer at Capitol Broadcasting Company and lead reporter for The City podcast from USA Today. Prior to that, she covered social safety net programs at WLRN, Miami's NPR member station. There, she founded the station's youth radio program. Wilson's work has been recognized by the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize and national Edward R. Murrow Awards. Wilson grew up in North Carolina and enjoys playing banjo and eating chocolate, usually not at the same time.

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