Genetic Testing and Genealogy for Adoptees

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Richard Hill, genealogist and author of Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA; Bethany Waterbury, geneologist with Next of Kin Research; and CeCe Moore, a genealogist, speaker, and teacher of genetic genealogy courses.

Hit the Highlights
  • Stories of adoptees that used genetic testing to find medical information and birth family members.
  • What is genetic genealogy?
  • What are the main reasons adoptees do genetic testing? Is it to find birth family members, or is it to get medical info?
  • What genetic tests are available and how do they differ?
  • What is the cost of genetic testing for health info and genealogy?
  • What is involved with doing genetic testing for genetic genealogy?
  • What are the main genetic testing companies and which one is best for adopted people or donor conceived people?
  • What medical information is available with genetic testing and is it so general as to be of limited use for either health information or finding the names of birth parents?
  • How to use the DNA information you get to find health info. that is relevant to you?
  • How to use the DNA info you get to track down birth family members?
  • What genetic tests are most recommended for international adoptees?
  • What genetic testing company is best for adoptees who live in countries outside of the US?
  • Should adoptive parents test their kids (when they are young) or should the parents allow the child to choose when they are 18+ if they want the testing or not?
  • How cooperative are extended relatives that you find via genetic testing in helping adoptees find their birth family?
  • How to hire a genealogist to help you use the DNA information received through one of the three main genetic testing companies?

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Image Credit: Caroline Davis2010