DNA Testing | Pad Patter 3.12 *little update*

[bestcee]

She has half-siblings that want to have a relationship with her and she doesn't want to have one with them. They won't leave her alone

You can turn off the option for people to contact you, at least on Ancestry. They won't see you as a match, and can't contact you.

you cannot change your DNA, and having it on a server somewhere seems innocent but there could be unintended things that happen later. I can't think of anything specifically but an article I read was warning people off it.

Ancestry has the option of deleting your DNA, and you can request that they destroy your sample. I don't know about other companies, because Ancestry is the one we used. I also read an article from 2018, when I first was considering doing DNA testing, that talked about how over 60% of people with European descent could be linked, whether or not they had taken the test themselves. Something, familiar DNA, something, something. Basically, the amount of people in the database. I do know that one of the big things people were concerned about was how police and other law enforcement types are using DNA to solve old cold cases. Both to find the criminal (Golden State Killer) and to find identities of victims.

 

[bestcee]

We (all 3 of us) did the DNA test here. We used Ancestry. My mom and uncle, along with my brother, and some paternal uncles, had all done. No wild stories.

I am adopted

Munchkin specifically asked to do it for this reason. We had him think about it for a bit, to make sure he really wanted to, before we ordered the test. He does know his bio mom, but nothing about his dad. He was really excited to see how much the two of us have in common with DNA. He likes pulling up the map to see where his ancestors are from. It gives him another form of connection. Since he's underage, his account is limited in a way yours wouldn't be. I had an aunt contact me to figure out who the new match was, but she had heard about the baby so it wasn't a big surprise.

I think it's neat to see that I have 29% Scottish in me, and 28% England and Europe. It's interesting to see that my brother and I have 18%/20% Norway, but mom only has 2%. I pulled more of the Ireland (12% from mom) my brother has 0%. He has more Scotland though (36%). Just random fun to me.

 

[HavaDrPepper]

You can turn off the option for people to contact you, at least on Ancestry. They won't see you as a match, and can't contact you.

Unfortunately, she met them in person once and they exchanged contact information. She was still in shock from it and met them out of curiosity. After thinking about it, she told them she was not interested in pursuing any relationship. They have chosen to not accept her decision. She has blocked them every way she can but they keep finding ways around it.

 

[bestcee]

Unfortunately, she met them in person once and they exchanged contact information. She was still in shock from it and met them out of curiosity. After thinking about it, she told them she was not interested in pursuing any relationship. They have chose to not accept her decision. She has blocked them every way she can but they keep finding ways around it.

That's so sad. I hate when people won't take no for an answer.

 

[HavaDrPepper]

That's so sad. I hate when people won't take no for an answer.

Yeah, it is hard for her because not only did she find out her supposed father wasn't her father, the brother that she grew up with isn't her brother. Different mothers, thought they had the same father.

 

[janedee]

I wonder if there's one that you can get the medical info without the possible family connections? The medical data part was super overwhelming. Like I have the genes that could mean I'm 'an olympic runner' (not likely) but also '75% chance of being morbidly obese' (for most of my adult life that has been true). But knowing if you're genetically pre-disposed to something wouldn't be a bad thing!!

CRI Genetics has no family connection information. They provide only genetic information.

 

[jk703]

I have the box to send in. I don't know if I want to though, lol! Only because the whole DNA thing. Not because of a possible surprise or finding people....

 

[Karen]

My sister is HUGE into Ancestry.com so she did their test a few years ago. She didn't really have any surprises. She wants me to do it too and I said... nah, I'll just copy yours. I guess there can be differences, but I'm not really that interested, and I'm too cheap to pay for it. Lol. Also, I watched all the X-Files shows and it freaks me out a little to think about the database of my all the humans DNAs in a long underground bunker somewhere.

My IRL friend that I scrapbook with did one of the tests (probably Ancestry) and she actually was able to find her birth mother and TONS of her birth family with it. She's adopted and had always wanted to find her birth parents, but didn't want to offend her adoptive parents. Then her Mom passed away and she just went for it. It was so cool how the process worked for her and now she talks to her birth family all the time.

 

[BevG]

Our trip down this road --- began when two girls from the same Chinese orphanage as my daughter found out they were biological sisters. One was adopted to France and the other to the Netherlands. They are just a couple of years different in age. Through the adoptive parent Facebook group the parents saw photos and thought the girls looked so much alike they decided to pursue the DNA tests. This is very cool. So my daughter wanted to get hers done. As of now, the closest relative she has is a 3rd cousin. We used 23andMe since many Chinese adoptees use it.

My husband got one for his mom and her two sisters. He also did his. All 4 used the My Heritage kits since they are among the cheapest kits. Like so many others, there was rumor of Native American in the bloodline but that "proved" false.

For Christmas, I got my parents My Heritage kits and they sent them in. The results were surprising as my father knew both his father's and his mother's families had immigrated from Germany (one pre-Revolutionary war and the other in the 1880s via census data). Yet the results showed no German descent: 42.2% Scandinavia, 42.1% Irish, Scottish & Welsh, 12% Greek & South Italian, 3.7% Italian. My mom thought her background was also German and some Native American. Hers was: 55.1 % North West Europe , 24.4 % English, 15.4 % Scandinavia, 3.7% Middle Eastern, 1.4 % Ashkenazim Jewish. Alrighty.

Then I decided to do mine through 23andMe. It says I am 97% German (and identified the area my dad knew his ancestors were from). So -- you have to ask, is one service better than another? Is the My Heritage going back further than the middle ages, back before Germany was settled - hence "German" does not exist? Or is it just wrong? I do know that My Heritage claims to have more European data than American data.

Because 23andMe provides relatives links, I have relatives identified on both sides of my parents' families. One was even confirmed through some email exchanges. So I feel pretty confident at least the matching part is correct. FYI - My Heritage does not provide links to relatives unless you pay extra for the service.

A girl that bowls with me has done all of the DNA tests out there in her search for relatives. She has a grandfather (or great of some level) that just "appeared" and she is trying to track down who he is. She said her ethnicity results varied quite a bit - more than she would have guessed - among the various companies.

 

[HavaDrPepper]

@BevG My cousin that claimed we had all this Italian ancestry also did the 23andMe. Her results on that one were different than the Ancestry results as well.

I believe it is because of the amount of tests that they get to aggregate their data from. With Ancestry being the biggest name and I believe the first one to the market, they more than likely have the largest database to draw from. The other companies are building their databases. Just the difference I've seen in how my results are presented from Ancestry in 5 years is amazing. I should do a layout about it...

 

[Scrapping with Liz]

I've been intrigued by this, not so much for myself but for my adopted children. But I will let them make that decision when they are older. I think they would like to know a little bit more about their history (me too), even if it didn't connect them to anyone.

 

[Angela Toucan]

I've not considered it.

 

[dawnmarch]

. Just the difference I've seen in how my results are presented from Ancestry in 5 years is amazing. I should do a layout about it...

Same! I do a lot of genealogy and all my relatives are from Germany and the surrounding area or from southern Italy. That's what my Ancestry DNA results showed until unexpectedly, I received updated results that showed 25% from the UK. I puzzled over that for quite a while until they updated it again and I went back to all German and Italian as expected. Not sure what happened at Ancestry for that little while but their results certainly can change over time as (I assume) they gather more information.

 

[IntenseMagic]

We (all 3 of us) did the DNA test here. We used Ancestry. My mom and uncle, along with my brother, and some paternal uncles, had all done. No wild stories.


Munchkin specifically asked to do it for this reason. We had him think about it for a bit, to make sure he really wanted to, before we ordered the test. He does know his bio mom, but nothing about his dad. He was really excited to see how much the two of us have in common with DNA. He likes pulling up the map to see where his ancestors are from. It gives him another form of connection. Since he's underage, his account is limited in a way yours wouldn't be. I had an aunt contact me to figure out who the new match was, but she had heard about the baby so it wasn't a big surprise.

I think it's neat to see that I have 29% Scottish in me, and 28% England and Europe. It's interesting to see that my brother and I have 18%/20% Norway, but mom only has 2%. I pulled more of the Ireland (12% from mom) my brother has 0%. He has more Scotland though (36%). Just random fun to me.

Thanks for all this great information!!

 

[IntenseMagic]

My sister is HUGE into Ancestry.com so she did their test a few years ago. She didn't really have any surprises. She wants me to do it too and I said... nah, I'll just copy yours. I guess there can be differences, but I'm not really that interested, and I'm too cheap to pay for it. Lol. Also, I watched all the X-Files shows and it freaks me out a little to think about the database of my all the humans DNAs in a long underground bunker somewhere.

My IRL friend that I scrapbook with did one of the tests (probably Ancestry) and she actually was able to find her birth mother and TONS of her birth family with it. She's adopted and had always wanted to find her birth parents, but didn't want to offend her adoptive parents. Then her Mom passed away and she just went for it. It was so cool how the process worked for her and now she talks to her birth family all the time.

I think my mom is one reason I've been a little hesitant. She's always been really quiet about anything she knows. I mean she's always been super upfront and honest about the fact that my sister and I were adopted, but I think part of me has always felt like I might offend her. Plus, I've always been too cheap to do it hahaha. My kids have been after me to do it because they are interested in what their heritage might be. I told them, they can do it lol

 

[IntenseMagic]

Our trip down this road --- began when two girls from the same Chinese orphanage as my daughter found out they were biological sisters. One was adopted to France and the other to the Netherlands. They are just a couple of years different in age. Through the adoptive parent Facebook group the parents saw photos and thought the girls looked so much alike they decided to pursue the DNA tests. This is very cool. So my daughter wanted to get hers done. As of now, the closest relative she has is a 3rd cousin. We used 23andMe since many Chinese adoptees use it.

My husband got one for his mom and her two sisters. He also did his. All 4 used the My Heritage kits since they are among the cheapest kits. Like so many others, there was rumor of Native American in the bloodline but that "proved" false.

For Christmas, I got my parents My Heritage kits and they sent them in. The results were surprising as my father knew both his father's and his mother's families had immigrated from Germany (one pre-Revolutionary war and the other in the 1880s via census data). Yet the results showed no German descent: 42.2% Scandinavia, 42.1% Irish, Scottish & Welsh, 12% Greek & South Italian, 3.7% Italian. My mom thought her background was also German and some Native American. Hers was: 55.1 % North West Europe , 24.4 % English, 15.4 % Scandinavia, 3.7% Middle Eastern, 1.4 % Ashkenazim Jewish. Alrighty.

Then I decided to do mine through 23andMe. It says I am 97% German (and identified the area my dad knew his ancestors were from). So -- you have to ask, is one service better than another? Is the My Heritage going back further than the middle ages, back before Germany was settled - hence "German" does not exist? Or is it just wrong? I do know that My Heritage claims to have more European data than American data.

Because 23andMe provides relatives links, I have relatives identified on both sides of my parents' families. One was even confirmed through some email exchanges. So I feel pretty confident at least the matching part is correct. FYI - My Heritage does not provide links to relatives unless you pay extra for the service.

A girl that bowls with me has done all of the DNA tests out there in her search for relatives. She has a grandfather (or great of some level) that just "appeared" and she is trying to track down who he is. She said her ethnicity results varied quite a bit - more than she would have guessed - among the various companies.

This is all so interesting!! MyHeritage is the one that I had and never sent in.

 

[BevG]

I've been intrigued by this, not so much for myself but for my adopted children. But I will let them make that decision when they are older. I think they would like to know a little bit more about their history (me too), even if it didn't connect them to anyone.

Liz, when my daughter first had hers done, she showed 8% Philippine and 92% Chinese. About two years later, the 8% Philippine changed to 8% Vietnam since more data has been added to their database. She is from southern China, right near Vietnam, but on the east coast of China, so either one made sense. I was curious if she had any of the minority Chinese in her. So far none has shown up.

 

[tanteva]

Can't you do the tests sort of anonymous? Like just using the first name for your screen name, and opt out the possibility for people contacting you? I've seen that over at FamilyTreeDNA.

As for that percentage thing. It will change over time as they get more and more samples. And it's no way an exact science, I think it's based on what origins the people themself say they have, and then it's all compared to each other. That's why it can be a bit off, and why it will change over time. First I had like 28% Finnish, now I'm down to about 15% last time I checked. I'm a descendant of Finns that moved to Sweden in the 14th century.

 

[berniek]

I’ve never done anything like these and feel hesitant about the safety and privacy of your data. But this is probably going to have place in my future since I’m trying to get a baby with an unknown donor (not anonymous, it’s all legal including medical information available and the option for the child to seek contact when they’re 18). It’s making me already a bit anxious though…

For Christmas, I got my parents My Heritage kits and they sent them in. The results were surprising as my father knew both his father's and his mother's families had immigrated from Germany (one pre-Revolutionary war and the other in the 1880s via census data). Yet the results showed no German descent: 42.2% Scandinavia, 42.1% Irish, Scottish & Welsh, 12% Greek & South Italian, 3.7% Italian. My mom thought her background was also German and some Native American. Hers was: 55.1 % North West Europe , 24.4 % English, 15.4 % Scandinavia, 3.7% Middle Eastern, 1.4 % Ashkenazim Jewish. Alrighty.

Then I decided to do mine through 23andMe. It says I am 97% German (and identified the area my dad knew his ancestors were from). So -- you have to ask, is one service better than another? Is the My Heritage going back further than the middle ages, back before Germany was settled - hence "German" does not exist? Or is it just wrong? I do know that My Heritage claims to have more European data than American data.

The “north west Europe” does include German heritage. so she might be very right about being German.

 

[meganmecrazy]

Nope, I have no interest in doing it. Also, someone that worked within the system had a long conversation with a friend of mine about this and warned not to give your DNA to these companies and how the samples are used for other means.