Fish in every pond
Over and over and over, the question is asked:
“I’m adopted. What DNA test should I take to try to identify my biological family or even my biological roots?”
And there’s only one possible answer to that question:
Take every DNA test you can afford to take.
Here’s the deal.
When you’re adopted, you have two issues: (1) you want to identify family members — if not immediate family, then those closely enough related to help identify immediate family; and (2) you’re racing the clock because you want to identify them while they — and you — are still living.
So while the rest of us can sometimes afford to take a leisurely approach to DNA testing — testing the waters, so to speak, as we dip our toes into the various DNA database pools — adoptees have to dive in.
Think of it this way:
• DNA testing is like fishing for cousins. Cousins who share our genetic heritage, who share some ancestors with us, and who may be sitting out there with the answers to some of our most vexing genealogical questions.
• Our own DNA tests are the bait that we use to try to catch the cousin who has the information we need: for those of us with intact families, the cousin who has the family Bible, the cousin who has the photograph of those second or third great grandparents, the cousin who has that fourth great grandmother’s maiden name. For adoptees, it’s the cousin who can lead us to our biological families.
• The databases of the DNA testing companies are the ponds we can fish in.
• And the cousins — well, the cousins may be in any one of the ponds.
I can’t stress that last point enough.
It’s not enough to say that AncestryDNA or 23andMe has the biggest database of people who have tested — although that’s probably true. (The exact numbers aren’t public, so it isn’t possible to say which one is the biggest at any given moment; we just know that both crossed a million this year.1)
And it’s not enough to say that Family Tree DNA has the most dedicated genealogists as users or the best analytical tools for genetic genealogy — although that’s probably true too.2
If the person you need to connect with has tested with Company A and you’ve only tested with Companies B and C, the simple fact is that you lose.
Fortunately, the price of DNA testing has dropped to the point where testing with all three major genetic genealogy companies is in reach for most folks: you can test with all of the companies for less today than it cost to test with one when autosomal DNA testing first became available.
So… one more time3 … here’s the best way to proceed:
Step 1. Test with AncestryDNA for $99 (US pricing, occasionally a bit less on sale). (To see full matching data and the family trees of your matches, you have to pay a $49 annual subscription fee if you’re not already an Ancestry subscriber. You don’t need to pay that to test and get your raw data, but you will have to pay it to see everything AncestryDNA has to offer.)
Step 2. The minute you get your results from AncestryDNA, transfer your raw data to Family Tree DNA. When I say “transfer,” that doesn’t end your matches at AncestryDNA, it just gets you into the Family Tree DNA system with all of its benefits. You can do this for free but remember: “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” The information you get with a free transfer is very limited, so either get four other people to transfer in their data or pay the $39 fee and unlock the information right away.
Step 3. When you can afford it, test with 23andMe for another $99 (U.S. pricing), occasionally a little less on sale.
To get the maximum exposure for your DNA, to have the best chance of finding that key cousin, fish in all the ponds.
SOURCES
- See AnneW, “Power of One Million,” 23andMeBlog, posted 18 June 2015 (http://blog.23andme.com/ : accessed 5 Sep 2015). Also, Anna Swayne, “AncestryDNA Celebrates One Million People Tested,” Ancestry blog, posted 16 July 2015 (http://blogs.ancestry.com/ : accessed 5 Sep 2015). ↩
- This is, of course, a matter of opinion on the tools. But hey… this is my blog, so my opinion rules. ↩
- See Judy G. Russell, “2015: Most bang for the DNA buck,” The Legal Genealogist, posted 2 Feb 2015 (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : accessed 5 Sep 2015). ↩
Thanks so very much. We have preached this for years. Autosomal for men and
women, also YDNA for men. WE have not found mtDNA to be too helpful for women. And, when you get your autosomal results back do not forget to upload them to http://www.gedmatch.com (it is free). Lots more tools for those companies that don’t give you enough information to work with. Most adoptees probably do not realize that with getting the right matches (even distant cousins) they can start building trees to help find their heritage.
GedMatch is a wonderful option, but it’s important to remember that it’s not the same as testing with the companies themselves. It does NOT get you into all three databases; you can only compare your DNA results to those of others who have uploaded to GedMatch, and that’s a tiny fraction of those who have tested with the companies.
Sorry, I have seen people try to use Gedmatch as a stop gap to paying for another DNA test. You are so right and I only meant to point out that a couple of the companies do not make comparing your matches DNA segments possible. Gedmatch can possibly help with that. Of course you need to get your matches to upload their raw data there as well.
Yep, I know that you’re aware of the limitations of GedMatch — just want to make sure others are as well.
Gedmatch is not good. FamilytreeDNA, Ancestry.com, and 23 and me, reunited me with my birth mother who unfortunately passed a year ago. But I also reunited with her daughter my half sister, and a cousin who filled me in with the family tree.
GedMatch is actually an excellent site — but it’s not the same as testing at all companies. Glad you were able to find your family.
Just to clarify, for a male adoptee, autosomal, Y-DNA, and mtDNA (thinking King Richard III here) would be the tests you would use, and for a female autosomal and mtDNA?
What are your thoughts for the order in which to take them? Judy, you suggested autosomal first for the cousins in the adoptees biological family, would you wait for the Y-DNA and mtDNA or do as many as you can as quickly as you can? I fully agree to get into as many ponds as possible, I was just wondering how you would prioritize the tests for someone on a budget.
Start with autosomal for both males and females, and test with all three companies as outlined. (And yes, use GedMatch too, but not in lieu of testing with one of the companies.) The reason is that it starts matching you up immediately with cousins from all branches of the family tree. Then for a male add YDNA at the 37-marker level, to explore the direct paternal line (and perhaps help identify a surname). Mitochondrial DNA can wait, for males or females, until you have a theory that you can test using that particular DNA type.
Thanks Judy,
It’s what I had in mind for a plan, but just wanted to see if that jived with what others thought as well. I haven’t done much with Y-DNA or even mtDNA. Looking forward to working on these cases. Thanks again.
I am in contact with an adoptee who has a 2nd-4th cousin match with me, with a strong segment on the 10th chromosome. She tested with Ancestry, then transferred her results to FTDNA and uploaded to GedMatch.
I went through my matches and found several with a similar match on the 10th chromosome. One I contacted has a great-grandmother who is the sister of my great-great grandmother. He also matches with the adoptee. Now I am looking to see if there are similar connections with the adoptee, so we have some clues. After reading this post, I am going to encourage her to also test at 23andme, to broaden the scope a bit. We have a clue to help narrow things down, but I think we are going to have to look for ways to triangulate to solve this.
It’s baffling because both the match and I have families that have been out west for generations. The adoptee was born in PA, and it involved a failed marriage, so it wasn’t a pass-through. She even looks like she belongs to us. I’ve been scouring more recent relatives to see if there’s an escaped cousin somewhere.
I wish I could get my stubborn brother to do the autosomal, too. (Or maybe he is, and just isn’t telling me because I offered to pay for it. That’s how stubborn he is.)
Good for you for working with your cousin! Hope she gets the answer she needs.
I’m an adoptee with many questions, I need to know if the chances are good as to finding what ethnicity I am and is ancestry.com the place to find out.
You can get a very clear picture of the overall ethnicity in terms of European versus African versus Asian and some idea on the regional or country level — but nobody can give you more than estimates at that level. So think about DNA testing more for finding cousins who can help you identify your birth family rather than for finding all the answers in ethnicity.
My father’s father (my grandfather) was an adoptee, I am trying to place a name on my great grandfather. Will taking a Y-DNA test through Family Tree DNA be my best option and at what test level, 37 or 67? Would this help with at least getting a surname? I have already taken the Autosomal test through Ancestry.com.
YDNA testing could help: if you test and you end up matching a whole bunch of men named Smith, you’d have a candidate name to research. But there are no guarantees. You might not match anyone, you might not have a consistent surname among your matches. It really is a matter of “you pays your money, you takes your chances.” Doing both YDNA and autosomal testing (adding FTDNA’s database to the Ancestry autosomal database) gives you the best chance, and starting with 37 markers will tell you whether you need to do more YDNA testing (if you match too many people, testing more markers will narrow it down).
As a female adoptee who has completed my MtDna on 23&me. Which test do I do now & with whom? Please instruct.
Thank you sincerely
23andMe doesn’t do mtDNA testing; it’s solely an autosomal test, although it returns an estimate of mtDNA (and YDNA for males) haplogroups. An adoptee needs to test widely to find all cousins to work with, so testing with AncestryDNA and Family Tree DNA (the Family Finder test there) is next for you.
I have two questions: My sister is adopted and is searching for family members. Which test should she start with and which company? My grandfather was not recognized by his father and I want to be sure about the great grandfather. Should I have my father or brother do the test, or can I, as a female, do the test (which test and company)?. Thank you.
Adoptees should always do autosomal testing with all three major companies to have the best chance of connecting with cousins. For your grandfather, having your father do both YDNA testing (available from Family Tree DNA only) and autosomal testing (as broadly as possible) is the best route. Getting the oldest available generation tested is always the best idea.
Hi im confused about the testing. Im a female. I want to find both mother and father. Which test do i do? Autosomal or mtdna? Also i heard there was discounts for adoptees and liw income. Im on disability and dint have alot if income. Lastly…how do u get results if no one in the family is in the system. What uf they didnt do testing. Did u waste money? Once in the system are you in there firever or only while a paid member. Thank you so much.
Autosomal is the best choice. You test once and will always be in the database but — on AncestryDNA’s system — won’t get all of the benefit if you’re not a subscriber to Ancestry (there is a lower cost Insights subscription you can get by phone if you call). But you’re right that you will only be matched against people who have tested so it’s often necessary to be patient. And I am not aware of any regular discount plan for adoptees or those on low incomes.
We tested my brother’s y dna, and today I got an email from an adoptee with a 0 distance genetic match. Where do we go from here in locating the connection? Do we need more testing?
A 0 genetic distance match to YDNA could be a very close match — or a very distant match. I’d suggest adding an autosomal DNA test to get more information.
I’m in similar boats as some that have commented above. I am a 35 yr old woman who was adopted as a newborn, we were able to find some of my biological family members back when I was 16, but I’m mainly wanting to do the testing to find out what my background is (I’ve been told that my biological family has alot of full and half American Indian, both Cherokee and Apache) and would like to know if there’s any inherited diseases in my background (I also know that some of my biological family members were alcoholics, some had heart disease and epilepsy, so trying to find out for myself and also that way my daughter will kinda know what her background somewhat consists of also. As I’m reading comments above, I’m just so confused as to where to even begin and what some of the words even mean (mtDNA, Autosomal, etc). I don’t really speak to my biological family that much but I do know who they are but not much besides that. We also don’t have alot of money, my husband works but I am on disability so doing more than 1 test would probably be somewhat out of our budget (depending on costs of the tests). So if anyone has any insight as to where I should begin I would really appreciate any and all help. I figured my Dr could just draw blood and be able to find out some of my questions but I guess I was wrong about that. So, I’m just lost and really want to know for my family and myself. Thanks very much!
April
The first step is to get a basic understanding of DNA testing: what it is, what it can do, what it can’t do. I suggest reading through Kelly Wheaton’s Beginners Guide to Genetic Genealogy.
Is there any test in which a adoptee can get medical inforation from ther biological father? I have had 2 children with severe birth defects, causes unknown, and need medical info. Thank you for any help.
For any unknown parentage case, you can run the data through a third-party site such as Promethease, but for serious medical information, you really need to consult with a medical professional such as a genetic counselor.
My husband, age 75 was adopted but will not test. Our daughter is interested in her obtaining information about her medical and ethnic background. Whoch test would you recommend she do first. She’s not an Ancestry.com member.
For purely the ethnicity estimates (and they are only estimates not an exact percentage, no matter what the ads suggest!!) and to produce raw data for possible medical analysis, the Ancestry only ($99) test at 23andMe is probably the best. Your daughter can test with one of the other companies later if she decides to try to connect with her biological grandparents’ family.
My wife (47yo) was adopted as a newborn and knows NOTHING about her ethnicity, medical background or ancestry. If she were to rank her priorities they would likely be ethnicity, medical and then ancestry. Could you possibly suggest a course of action regarding which of the big 3 services to begin with?
It’s covered in the blog post starting at step 1… 🙂 You’ll have to wait to transfer the AncestryDNA data to Family Tree DNA (it’s in the works but not working at the moment) but otherwise the advice stands.
I have two adopted daughters from Kazakhstan, one of whom is interested in finding out about her birth family. Will any of these tests help, or are they mostly USA focused?
Most people who’ve tested at this time are from the US but there are some from Europe as well. Getting the girls tested may give them some general information, including some general ethnicity data at least on a continental level. But specific info about a Kazakhstan birth family is unlikely.
Does this apply to only home country Adoptees or all international adoptions?
The concept of fishing-in-every-pond applies to all adoptees: you never know who you might match until you test. Which company to test with first may change a bit depending on the region of the world (23andMe and Family Tree DNA probably have more international testers today than AncestryDNA, which only began taking tests from outside the US a while ago). But you still want to test as widely as you can afford to.
My husband is adopted and refuses to do the test. Our oldest daughter wants to do the tests just to find out her ethnicity. If we just do the 23andMe DNA test, can this be uploaded into the Family Tree DNA?
Unfortunately, no. The 23andMe test changed some time back and it can no longer be uploaded to Family Tree DNA. But the cost of testing with Family Tree isn’t all that much more than transferring the data from another company, so when you can afford it, testing her with both is the way to go. In the meantime, you can also upload her data to GedMatch (see here) for free.
That stinks! We will start with 23andMe just to get her ethnic background for now. If she wants to continue to find any matching relatives we will go with Family Tree DNA. We will try GEDMatch once she gets her results from 23andMe
It really truly is not all that big a deal — you’re only talking a cost difference of $30-40 total. So not to worry — just proceed more slowly and do it right when she’s ready.
I used the Ancestry.com test and found my half sister on my birth father’s side. I initially only used it to find my ancestry but she had done the test and lo and behold, it matched us. We are meeting for the first time in a couple weeks. Once I found her, it opened up the entire birth family to me. I highly suggest it to other adoptees.
Any autosomal DNA test will definitively link relatives if they’re related at the second cousin or closer level. With a half-sibling, it’s a slam dunk — the problem is that both people have to have tested at the same company, and that’s why adoptees need to test as broadly as possible. If you had tested at Ancestry and she had tested at, say, 23andMe, you wouldn’t have found each other as easily.
What way is the best way to find out about a parent that you know nothing about. I know my biological fathers name, but that is it. Which testing service is the best?
Start with autosomal, step 1.
Don’t have a clue who biological father is. Submitted DNA to AncestryDNA. I have a some 4-6 cousins who are not related to my biological brother who also submitted to help me. I have enter family tree info on 6 or 8 of the into a family tree program and have trace the all to some common ancestors. Is there a way to show me which brach of the tree to go down.
Learning the techniques used in adoption cases isn’t an easy task, and can’t be taught in an answer to a blog post. I’d suggest checking out the Facebook group DNA Detectives and the website DNAAdoption.com to learn what you need to learn.
I am an adoptee and just starting my search for information and possible biological family matches. I read all of the previous entries in your blog and plan to test with Ancestry, Family Tree and 23 and me. Do you know anything about My Heritage DNA? Would this also be worth while?
MyHeritage is just getting started, so you probably won’t get a lot of results there just yet. But it is a major international player and, eventually, should have quite a database. So if you can afford it, do it.
I understand that 23 and Me share your information with Big Pharma. Do any of these other sites do the same?
Family Tree DNA definitely does not, without your express permission.
Hello, I am starting the journey of trying to help my husband find his birth family. The adoption was not recorded through any channels so this is our last hope of finding family members. Where do you think I should begin in regards to DNA testing?
Thanks.
My advice hasn’t changed since this post: start with AncestryDNA and then continue to test and get into every database where you can afford to.
I am adopted and have no information regarding my birth parents. I do not wish to find my birth parents (not for any negative reasons, I’m just not emotionally ready for at this time) but I’m mostly interested in finding out what my heritage is, what my race is, my background, etc. I’m middle aged and am also getting fed up with not knowing. Like when people ask me if I’m Irish, if I’m Hispanic, and so forth, the only answer I can give them is, “I don’t know because I’m adopted”. And when I see a physician for a medical problem and get asked by the Dr, “does this run in your family?”, yet again, I can’t answer them because I don’t know. It gets old and frustrating. Along with watching other friends, and people in general, take pride in their nationality and celebrate it on the holidays, and it makes me feel left out because I’ve never been able to do that. So, I’m wondering which DNA test would be best suited in terms of finding out my nationality, ethnicity, race, basically what’s in my blood, what makes me, me. Thanks in advance for any answers/ replies…
Purely for ethnicity, the test regarded as the most reliable right now (understanding that none of these tests are particularly good below the continental level) is 23andMe.
Judy, Thank you so much not only for your very quick reply to me but also for your suggestion as to which DNA test would best suit the needs and questions I have. I’ve heard of 23andMe and will definitely check into it. Even if I just get a general idea of my ethnicity through that DNA test, for me personally, it’s much better than knowing nothing. Many thanks again or your quick and helpful reply 🙂 Have a lovely day…
I have a friend that is searching for his birth family. He did DNA at 23&ME and at Ancestry. On 23&ME a certain person came back as his half sister, but on Ancestry the same person came back as a first cousin. Which one of these two DNA places are the most accurate?
Your friend needs to disregard the labels attached by the companies and, instead, look at the amount of DNA shared with the person. That’s because the labels reflect a range of possibilities (see the explanation at AncestryDNA, for example, that “…there may be some statistical variation in our prediction… The relationship could range from one to three degrees of separation”).