Adoption Reunions: Confirming Biological Relationships

By Mary Liner

For a multitude of different, very personal reasons, adopted persons all around the globe are actively searching for their birth families. Searches for birth families are often frustrating and tiresome undertakings, but for many adoptees, they result in the successful identification of long-unknown birth parents.

Once an adoptee has found and established contact with a birth parent, it’s a good idea for him or her to confirm the biological relationship through DNA testing. A family relationship DNA test is a simple procedure that can accurately--and fairly quickly--determine whether or not individuals are biologically related. For adoptees who have spent months or even years trying to track down their birth families, such tests offer the final, authoritative word on whether their searches were officially successes.

Half of a person’s genetic makeup comes from his or her biological mother, and the other half comes from his or her biological father. Because of this fact, the DNA profiles of a birth parent and a birth child can be compared to determine if the two individuals are indeed related as parent and child. Two types of family relationship DNA tests are particularly useful for adoptees who believe they have found their birth parents: maternity tests and paternity tests.

Maternity tests are useful for adoptees who believe they have found their birth mothers. In a maternity test, DNA samples are collected from the alleged mother and the child, and the resulting DNA profiles are compared. This type of test has two possible results: inclusion and exclusion. An inclusion result indicates that the alleged mother is the biological mother of the child. An exclusion result, conversely, indicates that the alleged mother is not the biological mother of the child.

Paternity tests are useful for adoptees who believe they have found their birth fathers. In a paternity test, DNA samples are collected from the alleged father and the child, and the resulting DNA profiles are compared. Like the maternity test, the paternity test has two possible results: inclusion and exclusion. An inclusion result indicates that the alleged father is the biological father of the child, and an exclusion result indicates that the alleged father is not the biological father of the child.

If a search leads an adopted person to a biological relative other than a birth parent, there are other DNA tests that can be used to verify the biological relationship. For instance, if an adoptee’s birth mother has died but the adoptee located the birth mother’s parents, then a grandparentage test may be used to confirm the biological relationship between the maternal grandparents and the adopted person. Other potentially helpful family relationship DNA tests include genetic reconstructions and siblingship tests.

After completing the often painstaking process of searching for their birth parents, numerous adoptees are opting to confirm their biological relationships to their newly found relatives through DNA testing. With a few simple rubs of a cheek swab, they can find the peace of mind that comes with knowing whether they have finally found the people they’ve been looking for.

Mary Liner is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about current social and scientific issues, such as DNA testing. Learn more about maternity test and paternity test services from Beta Paternity.

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