Fertility doctor's secret reveals discovery of at least 23 half
Donald Cline
It started when White read a news report that  Dr. Donald Cline  a retired Indianapolis fertility specialist   faced charges for lying when  he  denied  he 'd inseminated unwitting patients with  his  own sperm decades earlier.  He  searched out  Cline 's address online  recognizing it as the location of  his  mother's former doctor. Then  he  Googled the doctor's name. When a photo popped up   he  was stunned:  He  looked like  Cline .
"It was just too similar to be coincidental "  he  says. White had long known  he  was a donor baby  but that day   he  had an eerie feeling  he  was staring at the man who was likely  his  biological father.
Around the same time  Julie Harmon saw a TV news story about  Cline . She'd discovered years earlier that her blood type indicated she was not the child of both her parents. She didn't follow up to find out why  but the report about  Cline   her mother's fertility doctor  was unnerving.
The TV story featured Jacoba Ballard  whose mother had also gone to  Cline  and whose complaint to the state helped launched an investigation. Harmon contacted Ballard through Facebook  and they traded photos. There were striking similarities.
These two women and White recently crowded into an Indianapolis courtroom to hear  Cline  receive a one-year suspended sentence for lying to investigators when  he  denied wrongdoing; DNA tests determined  he  is the biological father of Ballard and another woman whose mother was  his  patient.  Cline  apologized "for the pain my actions have caused" but didn't specify how often  he  used  his  own sperm in procedures â court documents say  he  told Ballard about 50 times.
 Cline 's sentencing  though  was not the end of this story. Instead  in an extraordinary epilogue  three one-time strangers â White  Harmon and Ballard â have forged a kinship as brother and sisters  even as they wrestle with the revelation about their identities. They've also reached out to 21 other men and women  all in their 30s  who've been identified through DNA tests as half-siblings â evidence  they say  that  Cline  is likely their father  as well. About a half-dozen of them live in central Indiana.
Many stay in touch through a private Facebook page  and several gathered last fall for a cookout with their spouses  children and three mothers who'd been  Cline  patients. Others have gone on social outings  shared childhood photos  taken note of similarities (most of the men are over 6 feet tall) and  at times  confided in one another private details of their lives.
Jacoba Ballard was angry when she sat in court in December  describing a three-year ordeal that determined  Cline  is her biological father.
Ballard  37  says  Cline  told  her  mother  he  used donor sperm from medical residents.  She 'd known since  she  was 10 that  she  was a donor child  but in 2014  Ballard grew curious about  her  family history and thought  she  might be able to track down some brothers and sisters.  She  took a DNA test from 23andMe.com  a biotech company that uses saliva samples to determine ancestry and identify distant and close relatives  health risks and physical traits.
Clients can choose whether to be identified in a "DNA relatives tool" that connects them to others. When Ballard's results came back  they listed seven half-siblings  all but one identified by name. Ballard and two others got together  assembled a family tree and realized one common thread: Their mothers had gone to  Cline  for fertility treatments.
Ballard and a half-sister arranged to meet with two of  Cline 's adult children. At first   she  says  they denied their father had been a donor  then said he'd done so in a small number of cases. About a month later  Ballard and a group of the half-siblings met with  Cline  himself  and  she  says he told conflicting stories  finally saying he'd donated sperm about 50 times to help unknowing patients who desperately wanted children.
When Ballard filed a complaint with the Indiana attorney general's office   Cline  responded in a letter that anyone accusing him of being a donor "was guilty of slander and/or libel." At his sentencing  he acknowledged using his sperm. "I was foolish in my actions  and I should not have lied " he said.
Ballard's DNA match to  Cline  was 99.9997  court records show.
The case wasn't the first of its kind. In Virginia  Dr. Cecil Jacobson was convicted in 1992 of fraud and perjury for using his sperm to impregnate patients without telling them.  Cline  was convicted of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators  but a measure pushed by Ballard and others was introduced in the Indiana Senate this year to make it a crime for doctors to treat patients for infertility by using their own sperm or egg without consent. The measure didn't receive a hearing  so it's dead for this session; its sponsor has not yet decided if he'll reintroduce it.
If there is any comfort   she  says  it's in the camaraderie that's developed among several half-siblings. They've gotten together for concerts  an occasional softball game for one of their kids and a few Christmas celebrations. White and Harmon attended the high school graduation ceremonies of Ballard's two children  and the two women speak every day. They laugh about their similar tastes; they even prefer the same order at McDonald's â no onions.
"I went from not having a care to wanting to know everything " says the 34-year-old White. He tracked down a medical school graduation photo of  Cline  and studied photos of Cline's son online  noticing similar facial traits â a round face and high forehead.
It started when White read a news report that   [TGT] faced charges for lying when   [TGT]   denied   [TGT]  'd inseminated unwitting patients with   [TGT]   own sperm decades earlier.   [TGT]   searched out  Cline 's address online  recognizing it as the location of   [TGT]   mother's former doctor. Then  he  Googled the doctor's name. When a photo popped up    [TGT]   was stunned:   [TGT]   looked like  [TGT]  .
"It was just too similar to be coincidental "  he  says. White had long known  he  was a donor baby  but that day    [TGT]   had an eerie feeling   [TGT]   was staring at the man who was likely   [TGT]   biological father.
Around the same time  Julie Harmon saw a TV news story about  [TGT]  . She'd discovered years earlier that her blood type indicated she was not the child of both her parents. She didn't follow up to find out why  but the report about  Cline   her mother's fertility doctor  was unnerving.
The TV story featured Jacoba Ballard  whose mother had also gone to  Cline  and whose complaint to the state helped launched an investigation. Harmon contacted Ballard through Facebook  and they traded photos. There were striking similarities.
These two women and White recently crowded into an Indianapolis courtroom to hear  Cline  receive a one-year suspended sentence for lying to investigators when  he  denied wrongdoing; DNA tests determined  he  is the biological father of Ballard and another woman whose mother was  his  patient.  Cline  apologized "for the pain my actions have caused" but didn't specify how often  he  used  his  own sperm in procedures â court documents say  he  told Ballard about 50 times.
 Cline 's sentencing  though  was not the end of this story. Instead  in an extraordinary epilogue  three one-time strangers â White  Harmon and Ballard â have forged a kinship as brother and sisters  even as they wrestle with the revelation about their identities. They've also reached out to 21 other men and women  all in their 30s  who've been identified through DNA tests as half-siblings â evidence  they say  that  Cline  is likely their father  as well. About a half-dozen of them live in central Indiana.
Many stay in touch through a private Facebook page  and several gathered last fall for a cookout with their spouses  children and three mothers who'd been  Cline  patients. Others have gone on social outings  shared childhood photos  taken note of similarities (most of the men are over 6 feet tall) and  at times  confided in one another private details of their lives.
Jacoba Ballard was angry when she sat in court in December  describing a three-year ordeal that determined  Cline  is her biological father.
Ballard  37  says  Cline  told  her  mother  he  used donor sperm from medical residents.  She 'd known since  she  was 10 that  she  was a donor child  but in 2014  Ballard grew curious about  her  family history and thought  she  might be able to track down some brothers and sisters.  She  took a DNA test from 23andMe.com  a biotech company that uses saliva samples to determine ancestry and identify distant and close relatives  health risks and physical traits.
Clients can choose whether to be identified in a "DNA relatives tool" that connects them to others. When Ballard's results came back  they listed seven half-siblings  all but one identified by name. Ballard and two others got together  assembled a family tree and realized one common thread: Their mothers had gone to  Cline  for fertility treatments.
Ballard and a half-sister arranged to meet with two of  Cline 's adult children. At first   she  says  they denied their father had been a donor  then said he'd done so in a small number of cases. About a month later  Ballard and a group of the half-siblings met with  Cline  himself  and  she  says he told conflicting stories  finally saying he'd donated sperm about 50 times to help unknowing patients who desperately wanted children.
When Ballard filed a complaint with the Indiana attorney general's office   Cline  responded in a letter that anyone accusing him of being a donor "was guilty of slander and/or libel." At his sentencing  he acknowledged using his sperm. "I was foolish in my actions  and I should not have lied " he said.
Ballard's DNA match to  Cline  was 99.9997  court records show.
The case wasn't the first of its kind. In Virginia  Dr. Cecil Jacobson was convicted in 1992 of fraud and perjury for using his sperm to impregnate patients without telling them.  Cline  was convicted of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators  but a measure pushed by Ballard and others was introduced in the Indiana Senate this year to make it a crime for doctors to treat patients for infertility by using their own sperm or egg without consent. The measure didn't receive a hearing  so it's dead for this session; its sponsor has not yet decided if he'll reintroduce it.
If there is any comfort   she  says  it's in the camaraderie that's developed among several half-siblings. They've gotten together for concerts  an occasional softball game for one of their kids and a few Christmas celebrations. White and Harmon attended the high school graduation ceremonies of Ballard's two children  and the two women speak every day. They laugh about their similar tastes; they even prefer the same order at McDonald's â no onions.
"I went from not having a care to wanting to know everything " says the 34-year-old White. He tracked down a medical school graduation photo of  Cline  and studied photos of Cline's son online  noticing similar facial traits â a round face and high forehead.