Dr. Kahn wrote; >>The parents of a 14-year-old girl, lifelong patient, want me to help them >>obtain a lab specimen from their child so that they can do paternity studies. >>Dad's sperm count was low, so they used a sperm donor, but can't be sure that >>they didn't get lucky and conceive the child with home-grown spermatozoa. >> My trouble is, they don't want to tell their daughter about this until >>after they get the results. They figure if there's no other bio-father, why >>bother to upset the kid? As I see it, it's a mistake to trick the kid. I figure >>theymight as well deal with the situation up front. >> This area came up in the recent Pediatric Notes with the editor taking the >>position of keeping secrets if possible. My instinct is to be as open about >>this as we've learned to be open about conventional adoption. When kids in >>this situation learn about the birds and the bees, why don't we tell them >>there are some alternative ways of making babies? >> I have an appointment with the family on Thursday to discuss the issue. >> >>Max Kahn, MD >>New York, NY While several people have commented on the possible negative social consequences of the paternity test on a 14 yr old, we can't ignore the medical consequences. With more and more conditions now being found to be at least partly genetically determined, it is necessary for this girl's doctor to have as much accurate family history as possible. Max Shuman, M.D.