A cautionary note

[MarkThomasG]

It’s a step everyone should consider cautiously. Considering surnames are a relatively recent convention and at that the oral history passed down of such can be an extremely “malleable” identifier, DNA testing can significantly unravel some aspects of both maternal and fraternal lines. Whether one is open having that knowledge and all that it may reveal is probably the most important question to ask oneself before venturing. However it contains a wealth of information. Just considering family names, from ourselves to our grandparent we have contributions from possibly 8 different family names and it goes exponentially onward. The cautionary note, as previously posted, is the question of how that information can be used and misused.

Some of the companies are more free with your information, but there are those who guard it cautiously. Buyer research!

As a bone marrow donor, my DNA is out there.
As former military my DNA is out there.
So for me it was an easy leap. I chose the most restrictive company I could find, but there are no guarantees against security beaches i suppose. I found it fascinating and continue to get useful information It certainly has slowly peeled back some of histories fog.

[Farmer Jones]

I am curious to see what a DNA test has to say about me, but do not dare have one done, because 30 years ago I was convinced by a professor that it would be an altruistic act to make donations of genetic material to a reproductive clinic.

[Iowish]

I am curious to see what a DNA test has to say about me, but do not dare have one done, because 30 years ago I was convinced by a professor that it would be an altruistic act to make donations of genetic material to a reproductive clinic.

I was surprised to have a number of Australian matches. It began to make sense that I would have a few when I discovered that a brother of a great-great-great-grandparent immigrated to Australia from Denmark when my ancestor immigrated to Illinois.

However, it was surprising to find relative estimated to be a 3rd cousin who matched my 3rd cousins in our Kennedy and Campbell lines. As it turned out, her mother could have children, but her father couldn't. They went with donor sperm. She and her brother (same situation, different donor) were very content with their family situation. However, she had a birth defect. Now she, as a young adult, and with the blessings of her parents, did 23andme in hopes of finding the donor. She did not go in with the idea of having a relationship, of even so much as meeting her donor. She was just seeking information concerning any genetic conditions. At 3rd cousin, I was her closest match to show up. Needless to say, she did not find her donor through 23andme. However, she did accidentally discover her donor. He had long forgotten about the sperm donation. (A way to earn a little extra spending cash while in college.) He wanted to meet her. They hit it off quite well. She has developed a relationship with her donor, his wife, and their children. He decided to follow up. He discovered that his donations resulted in other offspring. He decided to find as many as he could and develop a relationship with them (depending, of course, upon their desires.) She had one great family while growing up. Now as an adult she is quite happily discovering more family. We still don't know how it is we came to be related to her, but that is okay. However, the estimate is likely off since she matches most of my 3rd cousins as 4th to 6th cousin (except the 3rd cousin who matches me like a 2nd cousin also matches her as a 3rd cousin.)