Finding birth family members using DNA is getting easier, as the awareness of the potential of at-home DNA tests grows more and more around the world. The steps below can be followed whether someone is looking for one birth parent, both birth parents, biological grandparents or other biological relatives.
Be sure you’re ready for an unpredictable journey. Answers may come relatively quickly, if closer birth relatives have taken DNA tests and share their information. If not, answers may come more slowly. It may require effort, patience and new skills to analyze DNA matches and build family tree connections between them. Some people discover uncomfortable truths or connect with biological relatives who are unresponsive or unpleasant. However, many people also make connections or discoveries that, whether dramatic or mundane, sad or joyful, help them fill important blanks in their personal identity.
Take a DNA test. Take a DNA test with MyHeritage DNA, which compares test results to those of millions of other people around the world who took the company's own tests, as well as those who have already tested with another company and have uploaded results to MyHeritage DNA; it’s free to get started. Many people who upload DNA data from other companies choose to pay a modest, one-time fee to unlock MyHeritage’s advanced DNA tools. (Read this review of the advanced DNA tools at MyHeritage.)
Explore ethnicity results. The Ethnicity Estimate can provide meaningful connections to ancestral places and peoples. MyHeritage compares DNA testers’ results with 42 distinct reference populations and more than 2,000 regions from around the world. Testers may discover their DNA connects them to specific locations or migratory groups, such as Black Sea Germans in Ukraine or Spanish migrants to Buenos Aires, ArgentinaMyHeritage Ethnicity Estimate.Those with one known biological parent can use what they know about that parent’s origins to estimate which parts of their ethnicity results may be associated with the unknown parent. (Learn more about how to do that in this free downloadable guide.) Those who do not know either of their birth parents can still use what they learn to build meaningful connections to those places and people of the past.
Start exploring the DNA match list. DNA test results at MyHeritage come with a list of DNA matches: other testers whose results are similar enough that they may share an ancestor within recent generations. DNA match at MyHeritage.In the above example, the first column on the left shows the match’s username (with the surname privacy-protected), age range, and country of residence. There is also a contact button. When contacting unknown close relatives, compassion, patience and sensitivity are strongly recommended, as the other person may not be aware of the connection and its revelation may affect their family relationships. The second column shows an estimated relationship between these matches, based on how much DNA is shared, which is detailed in the third column. The amount of shared DNA can only tell matches about how closely they are probably related; it can’t specify an exact relationship. More analysis needs to be done to determine exact relationships. Learn about expectations for finding birth relatives based on how much DNA is shared in this free downloadable guide. You can learn how to sort DNA matches and identify them in Your DNA Guide–the Book.
Explore any available records about the birth. For some places and time periods, records may exist pertaining to a person’s birth parentage and/or adoption. While some of those records are not accessible, others are. If a birthplace is known or suspected, researching the laws and available records is recommended. Here are resources for finding birth parents in the United Kingdom and adoptee rights, by state, in the United States.
Give it time and keep collecting information. Some people may find it challenging to reconnect with their birth roots, even with DNA testing and diligent follow-up. Some families are smaller and may not have a large number of living descendants who could take DNA tests. Living descendants may live in parts of the world where DNA testing is still relatively uncommon, or they may not yet have decided to test. In some places, records to help people connect with their birth relatives are not available.
