Medical DNA Testing -- Part 3

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All this talk of DNA testing brings up one last and important issue. In a super informal survey of other adoptive parents, I found that almost everyone had concerns about not knowing their child's family medical history.



We all discussed the frustration of being asked by the pediatrician all those questions, and having no answers. NONE!



This frustration is shared by adult adoptees. One of whom shared her feelings anonymously with me, "I have had some health issues. The doctors are concerned that they could be precursors to other issues -- ' Does anyone in your family have X?' they ask. I stare at them blankly -- 'I don't know!' How could I know so little about something so important?"



The good news is that advances in Genetic Testing now offer a potential solution. You can discover your own -- or your child's Medical DNA. I should point out here that the American Association of Genetic Research discourages this -- however, they have no stated opinion in cases of adoptees that have no other information).



If discovering your Medical DNA is important, your best bet may well be 23andme. When you get your results, you need to remember that even though a genetic predisposition exists, you may never develop a certain disease.



23andme also claims to give you the genetic info about your ancestry. HOWEVER, I have no idea the size of their Colombian population database.



https://www.23andme.com/



If anyone plans to do these tests, I would love to hear about your experience.

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