They all do it: holiday sales for DNA tests. While more people testing helps those of us who have already tested, taking a test without giving a thought to the drama that could result is not necessarily advised.
There’s a chance that someone taking a test will discover family facts of which they were not aware and that could create a little bit of modern-day family drama. Not everyone wants that drama and not everyone wants to know those details. A DNA test could indicate half-siblings that were unknown or a previously unknown child or grandchild of a sibling of a parent or grandparent. Not everyone will react the same way to this news. Respect the wishes of someone who does not wish to test. It’s their right to opt not to take the test.
If you’re looking to buy tests, AncestryDNA is offering some sales until this coming Father’s Day. Just remind the testee that there may be some unexpected discoveries. Some people welcome those. Others do not.
3 Responses
There is a high percentage that once the test is taken and the ethnicity looked at it’s the end of story. Not only will they not check their matches they also don’t respond to others trying to contact them.
You are right. Sometimes if I can figure out who they are–ybased on the tree (if they have it) or the username–the match is helpful. Otherwise, it just gets dumped in the mystery pile unfortunately.
One tip for DNA matches that don’t have a tree – do a web search on their username – the userID attached to the kit. Doing that led me to a not-too distant cousin that used the same username on Pinterest. She turned out to be the child of my uncle shortly before he married, completely unknown to the rest of the family. It was a happy conclusion but took a while for her to return my initial communications.