A DNA relationship test can confirm that two people are related.
For example, an adoptee finds her presumed birth family. But the birth parent is not available for a paternity test. The adoptee can confirm the relationship by testing a potential half sibling.
Another example occurs when a child’s alleged father dies without a paternity test. The man’s parents may wish to know if they are the child’s biological grandparents.
There are two types of DNA relationship testing. Both methods depend on the principle that closely related people have more DNA in common than unrelated people.
DNA Relationship Testing–The Old Way
One type of test is called sibling testing or kinship testing. This old-technology test can only calculate a probability that two people are closely related. Sadly, it cannot be conclusive and often yields misleading results.
Far Better Tests Now Available
A much better test type emerged in late 2009. That’s when 23andMe introduced their Relative Finder feature (now called DNA Relatives). Since then similar tests have been introduced by Family Tree DNA, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, and Living DNA.
You simply choose one of these companies and test both people on the same one. Use the above links to check current prices and place an order.
These are examples of Autosomal DNA Testing. This type of test is far more conclusive than traditional Kinship Testing. It checks more than 700,000 markers and actually MEASURES the amount of DNA that two people have in common in a unit called centiMorgans.
Once you have the number, you use this tool to see all the possible relationships that could share that much DNA.
No more guessing. No more results that just say “Maybe.”
Finding Birth Families
These are the same DNA tests used by thousands of adoptees to find birth parents and other biological relatives. If you’re in that situation, here are three additional pages on this website that you will definitely want to read:
A key page on my website with a concise summary of the key steps. This includes a remarkable new option with a faster timeframe and a guarantee of success.
Adoptees can finally outsource their DNA-based birth parent search with confidence. Origins International will find your birth parent in 90 days or less. If not, you pay nothing. After an exhaustive examination of this company, I have identified six reasons why this is a smart move for anyone trying to identify a birth parent or other lost relative.
To maximize your chances of finding close genetic matches you need to get into all the key genetic genealogy databases. This page shows you how to do that at the lowest possible cost.