NPE has become the term for a person who has discovered one or both parents is not genetically related to them, popularized by the first wide-spread NPE support organization, NPE Friends Fellowship. Many people introduce themselves or describe themselves as “I am an NPE” — this serves to connect NPEs and can be a way to help non-NPEs understand how disruptive the late discovery of misattributed parentage can be to someone’s identity.

Research into the experiences of people receiving unexpected results from DNA testing continues.

A new study based at Long Island University aims to explore parental identity experiences in greater depth, from a small number of adults who have taken a DNA test and received an unexpected discovery related to their own parentage.

Research into the experiences of people getting unexpected results from a home DNA test is still in infancy. A new study based at McGill University aims to explore the experiences of consumer DNA testers who receive an unexpected result with implications to their own parentage.

Maggie Chenard is the Mindful NPE on Instagram and Twitter, and she hosts a secret Facebook group of same name. In the very first episode of DNA Clarity and Support was an interview, Maggie shared with host Brianne the journey she has taken after a discovery two years ago that the father she has always known was not her biological father. Hear how grief changes with time, the impact of an "NPE" (not parent expected) discovery on existing relationships, and what it takes to help those around you know how to offer the right kind of support. Download and print the free mindfulness meditation poster.

What do we do once we know a hereditary disease exists in a family? Researchers and genetics experts are finding new and novel ways to combine medical research with family history of the genealogical kind.

Today’s guest post is by Jen Jacober who brings her professional experience as a genetic counselor and her personal experience as a late-discovery donor-conceived person together.

Cory's memoir, Folksong, touches on the pain and hope she felt through her journey at the end of her mother's life and through the discovery soon after that her mother had been keeping a secret about Cory's paternity for decades.

Guest blogger Christiane shares her experience telling her two children of different ages about using double gamete donation (both egg and sperm donation) to conceive them.

Podcast Ep: 4 Libby Copeland discusses with Brianne the complex themes she explores in her timely book The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are.

Stephen Anderson never expected that his decades of family research using traditional methods--genealogical records and oral histories--would be turned into a years-long journey to unravel the truth around his paternity and that of his many siblings.

Podcast Ep: 1 Unexpected DNA discoveries made from mail-in test kits change lives and redefine the meaning of family. Join genetic counselor and founder of Watershed DNA Brianne Kirkpatrick as she chats with authors and leaders in the DNA world on the new podcast DNA Clarity and Support.

Watershed DNA’s founder Brianne Kirkpatrick shares on the blog of 23andMe some tips for healthcare providers about what to do with a patient’s unexpected DNA family discovery.

Many “reunions” between biological relatives that have taken place after a DNA test discovery have led to disappointment on one, many, or all sides. Contact is refused. Contact goes great and then one party begins ghosting the other. Communications end, on a sour note or unexpectedly. Why is this?

Therese reached out to share her story about discovering she had a different biological father than she was told, and in her story is both struggle and growth.

Laura’s story gives us insight into the impact that a sudden discovery of an adult biological child has on a marriage.

In the New York Times this week, coverage on an unusual case. NYT reporter Heather Murphy wrote about the story of a man whom researchers are studying because he had received a stem cell transplant, and subsequent DNA testing revealed unusual results.

Do you call them biological fathers? Birth dads? Found fathers, discovered dads, sires, or “men who fathered a child they were not aware of”?

I recently received a message from someone who made an unexpected discovery of a new family member after doing DNA testing.

Heather and Jessica are sisters who have discovered that they have a half-sister they never knew about.

In this piece which covers the topic of support after unexpected DNA discoveries, I shared my thoughts on the topic and touched briefly on the role grief and support play in these experiences.