has anyone done a mail order genetic test

[hillview]

I am adopted and considering some of the mail order genetic testing. Has anyone done one of these? Any thoughts or feedback? Which did you use? For example
https://www.23andme.com/

[reneed]

I'm interested too but I don't know anyone that has done one. I'm curious to see the responses you get. I wasn't adopted but my dad was.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My BIL and dad have both done the 23&me and were really fascinated by the results. They thought it was worthwhile.


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[Snow mom]

I haven't done any of them, but many of my biology nerd friends have done 23&me. I get the impression that it's the most reputable of the companies that do such tests.

[Aishe]

DH and I did it years ago, when 23andme was brand new. I found the results fascinating and I'm glad we did it. You should know, however, that very little of the information is concrete. In my entirely layperson understanding, most of the genes they test for are *associated* with diseases or conditions. They indicate higher or lower risk, but nothing absolute or predictive. For example, Dh carries a gene that puts him at lower risk for an autoimmune disorder. Well, guess what? He has that autoimmune disorder.

The ancestry information is what I found the most interesting. In some ways my ancestry was quite a bit different than what I expected, and while the info is not really life-changing in any way, I'm glad to know it.

If I were an adoptee I absolutely would do it! I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have.

[okinawama]

DH and I did 23andme last year. The info that 23andme provided was interesting, but in order to get some specific info that we were looking for, a doctor friend of ours had to help us interpret some of the raw data that 23andme provides. The ancestry part was interesting, and we still get email notifications of other relatives that we've been linked to in the 23andme data base. The whole process was really easy, fairly quick and was exactly what we were looking for.

[Reader]

We did it many years ago and have found it interesting, but not life changing. We used it quite a bit to try to track down a missing branch of DH's tree without success. DH has had several adoptees contact him through 23andme to see if he knows how they are related, but since he doesn't know anyone in his family who placed a child for adoption, we haven't been able to help.

[MSWR0319]

My Aunt did one a few years ago. Our family had been trying to trace our ancestry for years and some were convinced based on looks and stories that we were of some type of Indian decent. We couldn't find it anywhere. So my aunt tried one of the tests and turns out there was no American Indian, but we were of Mediterranean decent!

[gamma]

I have also been interested. Is participating in the data base optional? Are you able to view the results and then decide if you want your name listed?

[JustMe]

I have done 23and me for one of my children (who is adopted) and myself (not adopted). Its very interesting. For my dd, we have not found any close relatives, but interestingly enough she is supposedly related to many of the children who have also been adopted from her birthcountry whose parents I am on listserves with. None of these are close enough(usually about 5th cousins or something like that) to feel like a "real relative".

I am an Askenazi Jew and had heard that people with my background have lots of relatives on 23andme, so that's why I tried it. I can't remember how many right now, but it lists many, manyh people who are supposed to be my 2nd -3rd cousins and many, many more further out than that. I haven't been able to figure out how I am related to any of these people (although my parents and grandparents have all already died so I am not able to ask questions other than what I already know).

You can definitely keep your name anonymous and not get mail, etc. I think it does list you in soe really anonymous way no matter what, but not sure about it.

[llama8]

I am not an adoptee, but I did Ancestry this past year for me and all of my family. The cousin matches are fantastic and I have learned so much about my background and family. 23andme is good for medical information. In family research groups, ancestry is the preferred test and yields the best results and matches due to the sheer number of people that have tested there. Ancestry results are freely transferred to Gedmatch, which is a chromosome browser and another way to connect with family members. FTDNA is not worth it. I would think about what info you want to find out and either test with both companies, or choose the one that matches what you need. On ancestry, you can keep everything anonymous and private.

Ancestry dna kits are on a good sale right now.

[kit]

I've never looked into this kind of testing myself, but thought would flag it may be worthwhile to verify what the company can do with your genetic information once they have it.

http://www.popsci.com/could-submitting-your-dna-to-private-genetics-companies-land-you-in-court

[essnce629]

DH, me, DS1, DS2, my mom, and my half sister all did 23andme last year. It was great!

I found out I'm 10% native American.

I found out that DH, me, and both boys all have the MTHFR mutation. DS2 is heterozygous, the rest of us are homozygous. This may have played a role in my miscarriage (which is why I wanted to get tested in the first place). This puts us at risk for blood clots and I'm more at risk for having a child with autism, ADHD, down syndrome, etc and repeat miscarriages. I now take baby aspirin 3 times a week.

Found out that DH is half Ashkenazi jew (he had no idea)!

Found out that DH and both boys are hemophilia C carriers (very common in Ashkenazi jews)! This explains DH and DS1's frequent and long lasting nose bleeds!

[american_mama]

Ancestry dna kits are on a good sale right now.

Am I on the right site? http://dna.ancestry.com/
It's 10% off... is that the sale you were talking about? DH really wants to do this.

Also, Latia, how did the 23andme test say that your DH was half Ashkenazi Jewish? That is one reason I want to do the test for myself. I grew up in an area with many Jews, and everyone always thinks I'm Jewish - rabbis, Orthodox Jews, non-Jews. I look it, and various members of my family on both sides look it, but my family on both sides has been in this country for many generations, with a lot of known genealogy on both sides, and there is nothing that makes anyone think we are Jewish. I'd like to know what my DNA says, but wasn't sure how that comes out in the test results.

There was a previous thread on this too that I will try to find.
eta: Here it is http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?483238-Random-Q-Has-anyone-used-one-of-those-genetic-ancestry-testing-kits&highlight=23andme

Here is an article someone linked to for good explanations about the testing: http://dna-explained.com/2013/10/06/dna-testing-for-genealogy-101/

And someone mentioned Family Tree DNA as being another common source of testing for geneological purposes.

[LBW]

My 9-year old asked for 23andme genetic testing last year after he watched a slew of episodes of Finding Your Roots. We had a lot of fun looking at the results, but didn't get any surprising info.

I have a friend who is adopted and just did genetic testing this year. She wanted more info about her health and also was hoping to find members of her birth family. She *just* posted on FB yesterday that she is now in touch with a sister and brother she didn't know about before. It's amazing.

[LBW]

I've never looked into this kind of testing myself, but thought would flag it may be worthwhile to verify what the company can do with your genetic information once they have it.

http://www.popsci.com/could-submitting-your-dna-to-private-genetics-companies-land-you-in-court

It's my understanding that these kits are relatively inexpensive because the companies can aggregate the data and then sell it. This doesn't really bother me. In fact, I think it will be helpful to researchers who wouldn't otherwise have access to such large samples.

[lalasmama]

DH, youngest DD, and I will be doing it this summer. DH's mom is interested in geneology and such, so she shares a lot of her knowledge, but she was an only child raised by her mom and stepfather, as was FIL, so we're never sure how much "grandpa" discussion is about birth fathers or stepfathers from a biological side.

My birth family, bless their hearts, are about as clueless as a potato bug about anything/everything medical- or genetic- related. And there's a rumor my cousin and I may be half sisters. Can't figure out how to slip her a DNA test without raising suspicions, though, lol!

With DD, we know her basic family lines, but we're curious about further back.

[niccig]

I want to do this. My mother's family are from several countries, but I'm sure there's some surprises in there.