DNA Sibling Test Recommendations

Gravy on 04/03/2019 - 23:49

Wanting some feedback on DNA testing services to ascertain if my father and his "half sister" are actually full siblings and hence give me and my own siblings a better insight into the true identity of our grandfather. They are both in their 70s and parents have long since passed away. My father seems to share very similar facial features to his stepfather who raised him from age 2 shortly after the death of the man he considered his father.

I've found a few services the cheapest of which is AU$480 at http://www.genetrackaustralia.com/

Anyone had any experiences to share or can recommend other services?

Health & Beauty

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 05/03/2019 - 00:00
    +2

    What did he say when you asked him?

    Might save you some hard earned.

    • Gravy on 05/03/2019 - 00:34
      +1

      My Aunt (his half sister) is visiting at the moment and we were discussing it around the dinner table tonight. I mentioned he could likely find out with a DNA test and I dont think either of them were too against the idea although I suspect it would be a little emotional for my father to discover his father wasnt the person he thought. That being said he had a good relationship with his stepfather who certainly treated him as a son.

      He'd likely be the one paying for the test anyway, just wanted to give him some idea of pricing if he was interested in finding out for himself, it would be a bonus for my siblings and I as well of course. None of my siblings got to meet the man my father considered his father although my older siblings might have met their step grandfather (he died before I was born).

      If the step-grandfather does actually turn out to be our true grandfather, I'm sure it would be a nice for my older siblings to know they had met him.

      Reading back through this confusing mess reminds me of a riddle I once read.

      There's a man looking at a photo of another man, he says to himself "Brothers and sisters have I none, but that man's father is my father's son."

  • haemolysis on 05/03/2019 - 00:23

    I would say you’ve found a service with a reasonable price and will tell you what you need. The only thing I would caution is that if you intend to use the results for legal purposes you ask if the service provider has a test which is admissible in court. It usually costs more to do so. I notice this test says “personal knowledge” and may only be for peace of mind and not hold any legal weight.

    I’ve worked on paternity testing in the past (though not kinship testing) and can tell you the test method is the SAME but the difference is they monitor the chain of custody of your samples a little more closely (sealed, locked bags, witnesses such as a JP will watch the collection and sign) and they’ll confirm your test on 2 samples in order for it to be legally admissible.

    But the “chemistry” and the technology is the same. So if you don’t need a legal standard, go ahead!

    • Gravy on 05/03/2019 - 00:39

      Not too concerned with the legal aspect as there are no wills to contest, no custody issues etc unless there is some legal aspect I haven't considered. It would also be good to know for health reasons, genetic disorders etc.

      • haemolysis on 05/03/2019 - 00:50

        Then as I said, the service looks fine to me!

        However, question: is there a genetic disorder in the family you are actually concerned about or are you just sort of “hypothesising” about the possibilities? Because that’d fine if you are, but don’t expect more than that because a kinship test will NOT tell you if you inherited any of those genes and will likely not be a great help in that regard.

        These tests aren’t like 23andMe style tests with a big sequence analysed. They reveal relationship information ONLY. You don’t get any information on your health, and won’t get any information like “you got the balding gene” or whatever.

        Your report will basically say “based on the 15 markers tested, there is strong evidence for the 2 donors being full siblings (99% certainty)” or something like that. It won’t say anything else.

        • Gravy on 05/03/2019 - 00:57

          Yep, I realise that. Its more to do with tracing possible history of disorders and whether it might be pertinent to get further testing. For instance both my Aunt and her full brother have Hemochromatosis (I'm a carrier). There are also a couple of cases of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) in the family tree which is something we may need to consider testing our children for to see if they are carriers.

          • haemolysis on 05/03/2019 - 01:12

            @Gravy: No worries, you seem well educated, just trying to be very clear because a lot of people get “misinformed” about what kinds of information they can get from genetic tests so just trying to be sure you know the “limitations.”

            If you’re happy with that kind of a report at that cost, I would say the only last thing to worry about is that your dad fully understands and truly wants to know that information. As you say, it may be emotional.

  • ShannonN on 05/03/2019 - 02:03

    is the test kits from ancestry.com the same basic tests at a cheaper price? They say they test against 700,000 markers?

    • Gravy on 05/03/2019 - 07:06

      I did see that one but didn’t notice if it was valid for sibling paternity testing, the price difference was substantial though. I’m not so sure about adding the details to their database though, will see if it is possible to opt out

      • Hellfire on 05/03/2019 - 08:25

        Ancestry correctly identified my half brother plus the few other relatives who took the test. Although it probably doesn't have the accuracy of a test designed specifically for that purpose.

  • tsigouni on 05/03/2019 - 08:35

    I used the Family Finder test at familytreedna.com The results section shows your matches and the relationship type (full sibling, half sibling etc) and the number of shared centimorgans etc. Family Finder is usually USD$79 but its often on sale for around USD$59.

    • Gravy on 05/03/2019 - 09:10

      That seems very affordable, are they able to gain that info from simply 2 siblings presenting their genetic sample or do they need more? I like the idea of being able to do some other ancestral background searches with the results, but have this lingering feeling in the back of my mind that there may be future ramifications. Given that the pricing is so much cheaper it would seem that collected DNA is being used as a saleable product in terms of the company being able to offer others the ability to see that info or even used it for other types of genetic research. Also concerned how this may affect say health insurances for some offspring in the future etc.

      • tsigouni on 05/03/2019 - 11:10

        Yep just the two siblings doing a cheek swab. You set up an account for each sibling and order a test. If they're related you'll see a match. The only down side is if they turn out to be unrelated its not going to specifically tell you that, you just won't see any matches. I chose familytreedna.com because they have their own DNA lab and therefore don't send your genetic material to a third party. I also liked that they have a clear privacy policy. The ancestral stuff is pretty cools as well. But yeah i agree that DNA testing isn't for everyone and people should do their research.

        • Gravy on 05/03/2019 - 11:24

          Do you need to send your DNA to an american location or do they have an Australian point of contact for mailing? Is it a reply paid service or do you need to pay your own postage fees?

          • tsigouni on 05/03/2019 - 12:13
            +1

            @Gravy: They send you a test kit and you post it back to their lab in the USA. From memory it included a padded envelope to use but it wasn't reply paid.

  • Mad-cow on 05/03/2019 - 09:37
    +1

    Tin foil hat time! With this kind of thing, you want to be 100% sure once the results are given everything else is destoryed.

    This is the biggest issue I have with these services is they are building a huge DB of every customer that comes through, in the future this data is harvest for god only knows.

    Oh and please have a Maury style opening when results come in.

    • Gravy on 05/03/2019 - 09:54

      Yeah I agree. I had to Google Maury though as don't watch trash TV. :)

  • [Deactivated] on 05/03/2019 - 16:52

    Go easy in this situation, they might not want the truth to be revealed and you should respect their wishes.

    There is not really a lot of information that affects you to know if your father has a half sister or full sister.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/03/2019 - 17:03

    Go easy in this situation, they might not want the truth to be revealed and you should respect their wishes.

    There is not really a lot of information that affects you to know if your father has a half sister or full sister.

    • Gravy on 06/03/2019 - 14:59

      I hear what you are saying but yes I have discussed this with my father. I beg to differ about your other comment though. Knowing who my true grandfather was is information I would like to know.

  • ShannonN on 05/03/2019 - 21:33

    I'm sure all dna collected in oz is passed onto law enforcement, BUT if you have done no crimes that require a DNA match whats the problem

    • Gravy on 06/03/2019 - 23:12
      +1

      The stumbling block seems to be the possible future availability of the data to insurance companies who may deny claims for genetic disorders. Not so much a worry for my father and aunt but perhaps for their children and grandchildren etc.

      My dad would like to have the test I think, but my Aunt is not willing at this stage due to this issue. Unless we can find some form of anonymous test (the genetrackaustralia.com link may allow testing without me naming the test subjects, not sure though).

  • Gravy on 07/03/2019 - 12:00

    This is interesting regarding health insurance https://www.genetics.edu.au/publications-and-resources/facts…

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