Adoption Search:
DNA Finds Birth Parents

New DNA testing services designed for genealogy purposes can also be used for adoption search.

Male adoptees are using these tests to determine the surname of their biological father.

This works, because certain genetic markers pass on, more or less unchanged, from father to son—just like a last name.

I did it myself and you can learn from my experience. And if you don't already know your birth mother, finding your birth father may help you identify her as well.

Other DNA tests can often confirm your biological relationship to birth parents, even if both are deceased.

In my case, the surname I matched on the DNA test was that of a longtime suspected father. But the man had been dead for years when this breakthrough occurred.

So I then used a relatively unknown type of DNA test, known as sibling testing, to confirm that he was my father.

Collectively, these DNA tests are opening long-closed doors. And more developments are expected.

To learn from my experience and see how each type of DNA testing can help identify birth parents, check out the following links in this order:

1. Finding Birth Parents

2. Parental DNA Testing

3. Genealogy DNA Testing

4. DNA Sibling Test

My Story on Family Tree DNA

Like me, the people at Family Tree DNA thought my story would be of interest to other adoptees. So they interviewed me and posted a video on their web site. You can view that video now by following the link on the bottom of my Adoptee Search page.

My Story in the WALL STREET JOURNAL

A science reporter from the Wall Street Journal found this web site and decided to do a story on my use of DNA in adoption search. The article began on the front page of the May 2, 2009 issue. You can read that article now by following the link on the bottom of my Birth Family Search page.

Subscribe to the Print and Online editions of The Wall Street Journal and get 4 weeks free

Beware of False Adoption Records

During my search I ran across several examples of "official" records that contained deliberately false or incorrect information. To see what I mean and learn how I overcame these obstacles, read my page on Adoption Records.

Adoption Reunions

As someone who has experienced adoption search and reunion twice, I have thought a lot about this subject. Here are my thoughts on adoption reunions.

Can DNA Help Female Adoptees?

The Y-DNA test that matches fathers and sons only works for males. If an adopted woman engaged in adoption search has a biological brother, he could take the test. Otherwise, you can consider mtDNA testing.

The mtDNA test is for both males and females. It can’t identify your biological father, because only mothers pass on mtDNA to their children. But it might help you identify your biological mother. NOTE: You must test both HVR-1 and HVR-2 areas for this to have any chance of working.

The people you match will share a common ancestor. In each case it will be a woman in your maternal line, i.e. your mother’s mother etc. See DNA Genealogy for an illustration of the maternal line.

Low resolution matches in HVR-1 mean little. The ancestors you have in common with these people probably lived thousands of years ago. Look for “high resolution” matches where you and the other person match in both HVR-1 and HVR-2. As additional people are tested, your test lab should continue to notify you of new matches.

If you get a high resolution match, learn what that person knows about their maternal line. Then trace all the various daughters (and their sisters) forward in time using conventional research. You’ll be doing genealogy in reverse. If tracing a direct female line leads you to a woman who lived in the time and place of your birth, that could be your mother or a close relative.

Please understand that this is less likely to work in adoption search than Y-DNA testing of males. First, you may not get any high resolution matches. Plus, the common ancestor may not be recent enough to be included in the genealogy records of the person you match. But if your search is stuck and you can afford the testing cost, you may want to give it a try.

If you try this and it works, please tell me through the Feedback form.

Can DNA Help Birth Parents?

It’s not always the adoptee that’s engaged in adoption search. Sometimes the birth mother (or birth father) may decide to search for the child they gave up for adoption.While it is theoretically possible to use Y-DNA or mtDNA testing to find a child, it is much less likely to succeed.

Instead of searching backward in time where there are many common ancestors to discover, you are searching forward in time where there is only one person to find. Unless your child was actually tested and is in the same database, you won’t learn anything useful.

Furthermore, the child’s surname has changed. So the surname magic of the Y-DNA test is missing when you use the test to find an adoptee.

Adopted Group Project

Family Tree DNA, the lab that I used for my Genealogy DNA Testing, now has an Adopted Group Project. They offer all the tests discussed in this section. And ordering through the Adopted Group Project gets you their group discounts.

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