Large scale phasing and imputing in Iceland » The concept of surrogate parenthood
Typed relatives who share either the paternal or maternal haplotypes of the proband can be used to phase the proband as though they are actual parents. These relatives are referred to as surrogate fathers and surrogate mothers, respectively. A surrogate father does not have to be a male and a surrogate mother does not have to be a female. Surrogate parenthood is locus specific. A sibling can be a surrogate father for one locus and a surrogate mother for another locus. However, for a locus where the sibling shares both haplotypes with the proband, the sibling is like a twin and cannot be used to phase the proband.
