With his narrow face, prominent teeth and large eyes, Joey Hoofdman always looked very different from his siblings. As well as that, his strong work ethic and keen sense of order was greatly at odds with the rest of his chaotic family.
Feeling like such an outsider made Joey miserable throughout his life. But when he began digging around for answers about his identity, little did he anticipate the scale of the genetic – and ethical – minefield he was about to step into.
While he was growing up in Rotterdam, Holland, Joey’s parents never hid the fact they had needed help conceiving him. His dad – who already had two kids from a previous marriage – had gone through a vasectomy reversal for Joey’s mum. ‘They told me they went to a doctor