If you unwrapped an online ancestry DNA test for Christmas, you might be feeling curious \u2014 even excited \u2014 about discovering your cultural heritage and family tree.<\/p>\n
But did the accompanying card warn it could also blow up your life?<\/p>\n
Before you spit in the tube and join the more than 26 million people globally<\/a> who have undertaken ancestry DNA testing through direct-to-consumer companies, there are some important things to consider.<\/p>\n Getting more than you bargained for<\/p>\n For people who know they are adopted or donor-conceived, genealogical DNA testing may be useful and necessary to connect with biological family when records are otherwise inaccessible<\/a>.<\/p>\n But if you’re taking these tests as just “a bit of fun”, know there is the risk of uncovering more than you are prepared for, explains Jane Tiller.<\/p>\n “People don’t always expect [their results] can have a dark side \u2014 the family tree might not be what they expect,” says Dr Tiller, an ethical, legal and social adviser in public health genomics at Monash University.<\/p>\n Calls for national donor conception register<\/a><\/p>\n Hundreds of people have accessed South Australia’s Donor Conception Register in its first year, lifting decades of secrecy surrounding anonymous donations.<\/p>\n Uncovering unexpected family connections can be “life-altering”, says Jo-Ann Sparrow, leading to feelings of betrayal and identity confusion.<\/p>\n She is the president at Jigsaw Queensland, an organisation that provides information, support and referrals for people affected by past adoption practices, including those who discover they are adopted later in life.<\/p>\n “Some learn they were adopted, or donor-conceived [through DNA testing],” explains Dr Sparrow.<\/p>\n “Common reactions include shock, disbelief, anger, confusion, and a sense of betrayal \u2014 especially if the truth was hidden by loved ones.”<\/p>\n While sometimes surprising results can lead to positive outcomes<\/a>, experts warn it’s important to be prepared for the potential impact of uncovering a “family secret”.<\/p>\n In more extreme cases, people may discover they are linked to something criminal or distressing, explains Andelka Phillips.<\/p>\n She is an associate professor in the law school at the University of Leicester and academic affiliate with the HeLEX Centre, University of Oxford.<\/p>\n For example, a fertility doctor using their own sperm<\/a> to inseminate patients, or IVF companies using the “wrong sperm”\u00a0<\/a> to conceive children.<\/p>\n There can also be cultural implications, Dr Phillips explains.<\/p>\n “Ethnicity [testing] is not standardised, and it might impact your view of your cultural or ethnic identity.”<\/p>\n What will happen to your data?<\/p>\n Where your DNA sample is stored and how your data is used are other considerations.<\/p>\n In 2023, hackers stole the profile and ethnicity information<\/a> of millions of people from one such company \u2014 23andMe.<\/p>\n Dr Philips says most people don’t read the fine print of genealogical DNA testing.<\/p>\n “The price of these kits has dropped a lot \u2026 the profit [these companies] make is from the data and partnerships that emerge from having a large database.<\/p>\n “23andme did have partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, there’s always been this tendency to reuse the data for research.”<\/p>\n In Australia, genetic data is protected as “sensitive information” under the Privacy Act, but that doesn’t mean it’s untouchable<\/a>.<\/p>\n And if you are sending your DNA to another country, as often is the case with these tests, “you have to know your country’s laws cease to have any impact”, says Dr Tiller.<\/p>\n