Allegra Heart Epstein and her brother Nathaniel Henry Epstein were born on February 3, 1993.  They were conceived through the use of an anonymous egg donor.  From the time they were old enough to understand speech we have told them that we use an egg donor to help us get pregnant.  At first they had no idea what an egg donor was.  In fact, their first confusion about an egg donor was mistaking the term donor and the word donut.  Allegra at first believed that she was made by the local Dunkin Donuts shop.  

As the years went by the children began to understand more and more about egg donation.  One of the games Allegra often plays with her daddy when they take a walk is "How would I be different if mommy had used her own eggs?"  Allegra concluded that she would probably have black hair not blonde hair because mommy has black hair.  She also concluded she would probably be much shorter since mommy is very short.  And she believes she would not be the good swimmer she is because mommy can't swim but the donor was an excellent swimmer.

Allegra is very aware of how different she looks from her mom.  She has begun to spontaneously draw pictures depicting these differences. Please look at the picture she drew depicting her family members and how different she looks form her mom.  She decided to refer to each person by initials.  She is AHE (Allegra Heart Epstein.)  Her mom is HSR (Helane S Rosenberg).  Her Au Pair is PK and NHE is her brother and YME is her dad.  She depicts herself with the long blonde hair she has.  She has shown that she differs in hair color from her mom and her Au Pair but is similar in that color to her brother and her dad (as seen in pictures of him when he was a child.)

Allegra is very articulate and very open. She has consented to answer any questions that a recipient has.  If you are wondering how a child will respond to her conception via egg donation you can click below to send your questions to Allegra.  Please be considerate.  Although Allegra is quite mature, she is still only 10 years old (as we write this.)  Also, although Allegra loves to use a computer, she does not type very fast.  So please be patient until she can finish answering your questions.  The email you send will go to Yakov Epstein who will share it with Allegra.  We will encourage Allegra to respond to you.  (She has already responded to quite a few people!)

Ask Allegra a question

This page was last modified 06/02/03