Continued from the previous post.

Reuniting twins and full sibs, easier to establish than half-sibs and cousins, must feel like a miracle, no matter how complicated the resulting relationship may be. And even if distance and schedules and such are difficult with children, the adults they will too soon be will enjoy an unexpectedly fuller life with the sister or brother part of it.

Much of the web information available addresses mainly children from China, as there are many of them and the online community is well established and tightly knit. The information available on the DNA testing, however, relates to everyone, regardless of country.

RCC (Raising China Children) has "Orphanage- and Province-Specific Discussion Groups" where families can exchange information.

SisterFar is a Yahoo group that is:

ONLY for parents of internationally adopted children who have found (or suspect that they have found) a biological sibling or twin. This group will deal with the specifics of DNA testing, and the emotional and social aspects of raising biological siblings in different homes. Membership is restricted and must be approved by the moderator. You must have identified the other family.

THIS GROUP IS NOT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE: CURIOUS OR HOPE TO FIND A SIBLING.

Should you be curious, but without specific information, the Kinsearch Registry "is a registry for those who have been adopted or are the result of an assisted reproductive process and wish to locate any biological siblings they may have, wherever they may be in the world. The Registry uses a databank of participants’ DNA profiles to find and match a registrant with any half or full biological sibling registered in the bank. The Registry may also be used to locate biological parents if they register in the databank."

One family in Florida holds a special place in our hearts, as their son, Hunter, and Sam share many features. Their boy is sixteen months older than ours, but from very early photos the resemblance is striking. They are not from the same orphanage, but come from the same area around Phnom Penh.

Someday, perhaps, we'll try the DNA testing, and hopefully there will be a chance for all of us to meet in person and for the boys to spend time together.

For now, however, we stay in touch and comment often on the astounding similarities in photos. When shown shots of Sam, Hunter insists it's him in the photo and wonders why he doesn't recognize the background and the clothing. Sam does exactly the same when pictures of Hunter arrive on my computer from his mom.

With Sam and Hunter blessed with wonderful sibling relationships at home, neither family is making a big deal of the possible genetic connection between these two little boys right now, but there is a special place in our hearts for the far away folks we've never seen ... just in case.