Fertility Horizons

In our last episode, we heard Timo’s story about taking a DNA test for fun, only to discover over 50 secret half-siblings. Eggs and sperm are traded and shipped across international borders every single day. But what actually happens when there are no laws or regulations regarding donations? In this episode, we dive into the global donor business, comparing the regulations between egg and sperm donation, and highlighting the critical lack of cross-border tracking. We are joined in our Stockholm studio by embryologist and Director of Research at Livio, Aisling Ahlström, to discuss donor families, commercial DNA testing, and how to create a safer, more transparent future for everyone involved.
In this episode: Emma Karling – midwife and show host
Carolina Tristen – fertility doctor
Aisling Ahlström – embryologist and Director of Research at Livio
This production is made at Beppo
Sound design and editing by Erland Karling
Photos and graphics by Anneli Nygårds
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Timo bought a casual DNA test for fun at age 39, he expected to learn about his Viking roots. Instead, he uncovered a life-altering secret: he was donor-conceived, and part of a massive, hidden sibling network. In this season premiere, we step inside a story about commercial DNA testing, identity, and what happens when an unregulated past collides with the present. We meet up with Timo to talk about ethics, honesty, and the emotional impact of uncovering 54 half-siblings—and counting.
In this episode: Emma Karling – midwife and show host
Carolina Tristen – fertility doctor
Timo Ramu – donor-conceived and author
Follow Timo:
Substack: timoramu.substack.com
Instagram: @timomittimo
This production is made at Beppo
Sound design and editing by Erland Karling
Photos and graphics by Anneli Nygårds
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us on a visit to Brilliant Beginnings in London, UK to talk about one of the most controversial subjects in the field - surrogacy! While offering wonderful opportunities for struggling couples to become biological parents, this method is widely questioned and debated all over the world. We meet up with surrogate mother Laura, and Stephen who became a dad through surrogacy, and who both went on to work for Brilliant Beginnings.

In this episode:
Emma Karling - midwife and showhost
Carolina Tristen - fertility doctor
Laura Clarke - surrogate mother at Brilliant beginnings
Stephen Ashe - father through surrogacy at Brilliant beginnings

This production is made at Beppo
Sound design and editing by Erland Karling
Scriptwriting Susanna Lewenhaupt
Photos and graphics Anneli Nygårds

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Sarah runs a boutique fertility practice in central London, UK. She is passionate about spreading awareness about fertility in general, and also tells us about how small establishments like hers can work in parallel with the larger fertility clinics, in order to shorten the wait for families to get treatment.

In this episode:
Emma Karling - midwife and showhost
Carolina Tristen - fertility doctor
Dr Sarah J Matthews - gynecologist and fertility specialist

This production is made at Beppo
Sound design and editing by Erland Karling
Scriptwriting Susanna Lewenhaupt
Photos and graphics Anneli Nygårds

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Felicitas is a privately run chain of fertility clinics in Helsinki. Dr Merja and embryologist Jorge tell us about how things are done in Finland, and give us the pros and cons of genetic screening and PGT-A.

In this episode:
Emma Karling - midwife and showhost
Carolina Tristen - fertility doctor
Dr Merja Tuomi-Nikula - gynecologist Felicitas
Jorge Gomez - Embryologist Felicitas

This production is made at Beppo
Sound design and editing by Erland Karling
Scriptwriting Susanna Lewenhaupt
Photos and graphics Anneli Nygårds
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.