(Follow up to this blog.)

The following information is copied from this blog.  

Thank you to all of the families who have contacted me regarding having your child who was adopted from China tested as a possible match for Katie! As many of you are aware, it is quite possible for our children to have a sibling who has also been adopted. Also, one thing I learned by my trip to China, many of our children who possibly come from rural families are quite underrepresented on the current bone marrow registries around the world, including China’s registry (CMDP).

I pray that none of your children will ever need to have a transplant; however, if this should ever befall your family or any other child/person who has been adopted from China, your act of having this typing done can be of great assistance to that person.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been told that the strong desire of a young person (generally over 12 years of age) to be a donor will usually trump any ethical considerations to limit those under age 18 of being a donor. This age limit is not set because of restrictions on being able to be a donor – doctors can perform a transplant with a donor as young as 6 months of age – but is done for legal reasons only.

Stacey is the adoptive parent of a Russian born child. She successfully completed a birthmother search and has been kind enough to share this information with us at Adoption Under One Roof.

Part 3: What will the older sister tell us?

The searcher videotaped the older sister and provided a report. During the interview the searcher asked my daughter's sister many questions. It was amazing to finally see this information on paper and eventually get to see the video interview. She is an amazing young woman especially after spending the first 19 years of her life in an orphanage. The mystery was starting to unravel. She had tears in her eyes as she had no idea my daughter existed. She was also overjoyed to know she had another sister. I could not help but be joyful, yet my heart sank when I found that the older sister had spent the first part of her life in an institution.

Stacey is the adoptive parent of a Russian born child. She successfully completed a birthmother search and has been kind enough to share this information with us at Adoption Under One Roof.

Preface - I have used vague terms and not revealed the folks in Russia that assisted with information. This is a delicate matter and should not be taken lightly for those that wish to search and those that are willing to provide information. Many have criticized Russian adoption for many things, but for me, the Russians that were involved have the best interest of the children at heart. I have received nothing but warmth during the adoption process and my search.

Part 1: To Search or not to Search?

From the moment I found out about my daughter and then met her in Russia I wondered about her history. When I met my daughter she was 8 months old. She ws frail, pale and weak from respiratory illnesses, and judging from her personality was in this condition due to a lack of affection. She weighed 9 pounds at 8 months old. She looked like a little doll and I had no idea she was so under-weight as I was blinded by love. At the conclusion of our first visit, I whispered in her ear, "I love you and I will be back to take you home."

The Guatemala 900* recently posted this update on their website:

Seventy-six US Senators and Members of Congress have penned a letter asking President Colom and three other high-ranking Guatemalan officials for prompt action on approximately 400 stalled adoption cases. The adoptions to American families have been in process for a minimum of two and a half years.

To read this letter and see which senators and members of congress signed it, click here.