Which Site is best for a DNA kit

discostu1

HI total novice.We have gone back to great grandparents and sone very interesting finds. One of the family now insists on buying me a DNA kit as a belated Christmas present. I know of Ancestry.com and 23andme. I know we have relatives in the States, Canada and the U.K although we have lost contact.Which site would people recommend?

pinkypinky

Buy the test on Ancestry - they have the biggest database and a genealogical focus.

23andMe is going through the wringer and I wouldn't be confident of their long term survival.

Please do remember that taking a DNA test might bring unwelcome news as well as good news and make sure you read the terms and conditions.

Deregos.

I was gonna say Ancestry.com too. You can then upload the GEDCOM file to other sites like myheritage.com to check for matches there.

discostu1

I can't seem to post the Link, but there is an excellent podcast series on BBC Sounds called The Gift. Basically stories of people who got DNA testing kits as gifts and as mentioned got some serious surprises

Jellybaby_1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123014062#Comment_123014062

Oh that sounds so interesting, must check that out! Thanks for posting.

Deregos.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123014062#Comment_123014062

Here you go. I'll listen to this later on. Thanks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gd2dgb

discostu1

Thanks its amazing . Babies mixed up in hospital, sperms donors who fathered huge number of kids and of course killers nailed as a family member put up their DNA

silliussoddius

Ancestry no longer lets me see info like matches in common or access to a family tree without a subscription. These are basics at 23andme, Family Tree DNA and MyHeritage (although as mentioned 23andme is having issues).

VirginiaB

Thanks so much for the link to that podcast. Really shocking stories. I think anyone with the slightest doubt about their parentage etc. might think twice before taking a DNA test unless they are sure they can handle whatever they might discover.

Hermy

I'd be the opposite Virginia - if there was any doubt about a relationship I'd be keen as can be to explore the issue.

VirginiaB

Hermy, you're right. I expressed myself badly. I didn't mean "Don't do it." I meant, think twice. Some people can handle or very much want to know such information. Others can be devastated.

pinkypinky

Here's a review I wrote about The Gift

https://cbgenealogy.ie/the-gift/

Hermy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123016462#Comment_123016462

Not at all Virginia - you're absolutely right that people should tread carefully when delving into their genetic ancestry as you just don't know what you're going to find or how it's going to affect you.

And I'd be lying if I said I didn't have reservations myself when I began delving into my past looking for my birth family.

But the genealogist in me just has to know the truth of a given line of inquiry regardless the outcome.

Grey123

My father has done a DNA test. Possibly with 23andme and gets emails sometimes about matches. He doesn't have any tree though so results don't mean a lot, its just seen a distant "cousin". Is it possible with his permission of course to feed it into my family tree? Are the results cross platform? Or perhaps I give him my tree work and have him create his own account on Ancestry?

I guess my question is:

a. Does the DNA results work with your tree to fill in links or is it a separate system/interface?

b. Would having my dads results be more beneficial than just mine (if I do one) as I would be more "watered down" by my mothers side which I am not currently investigating.

Bonus Q.

Family surprises aside how do people feel about the data base of DNA and how it is used in Ireland / may it be used in future. I am all for catching murderers etc but I some how feel a little uncomfortable about a data base of DNA being accessible to a police force who could run any sample through it for any reason and identify that a cousin of mine committed some minor crime?

We don't take samples of DNA from all babies born but could this be a back door to a state database? I guess that cat is already out of the bag as my Dad has done one.

I guess the future is hard to predict but if the data is sitting there I think it's tempting that it is used at some stage for at least some crimes. Given how it is used to create matches I imagine its not easy to own and control the data and remove it.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123031787#Comment_123031787

When polices use DNA databases they are starting with a sample and then use the family trees from close matches to work from the past into the present, ideally by using common names in more than one match in the hope they can end at a suspect. It’s not a perfect system as matches to their sample may not have family tree information.

pinkypinky

There's a lot to answer in your post @Grey123

23andMe doesn't have a tree in a traditional format. It creates something of genetic matches but often places them wrong, in my experience.

You can link to a tree on another website in the profile section but it won't feed in matches from there.

The law enforcement question really needs to be a separate thread so I'll ask you to repost that as a new thread.