Using Genomics to Locate Lost Relatives
Whether you were adopted or parts of your family tree simply lost touch over the years, the field of genomics has made it possible for people to locate relatives they never knew they had. If you’ve always wanted to learn more about where you come from and how big your extended family may truly be, learning more about where you can turn to for answers is a must.
Reasons to search for relatives
Although sheer curiosity may be enough for some people to start tracing their family tree, the need to find a blood relative could take on a more serious tone when you suffer from a serious illness. Unfortunately, simply listing yourself on an organ donor registry or family locator message board isn’t always enough when you’re someone who isn’t easy to match. In this instance, finding a blood relative who may share your genetic peculiarities could be the key to saving a life.
In other circumstances, you may find yourself as the executor of a loved one’s will, charged with tracking down a long-lost family member to provide them with their inheritance. Regardless of why you’re looking for additional family members, turning to your favorite search engine will likely not provide you with the focused results you need—especially when time is of the essence.
Methods of finding relatives
Although hiring a private investigator has been a tried and true method for finding people who don’t necessarily want to be found for decades, it can be a costly option when you aren’t in the midst of a life and death situation. When the family member you’re trying to track down was/is in the military, additional databases may be available to assist in your search.
For many, a more reasonable solution is to turn to genetic testing companies that focus on ancestry.
While many of these online ancestry sites will provide you with some form of free ability to trace back your ancestors, submitting your DNA for sequencing may be able to help them provide you with more accurate results. This may especially be the case when a distant relative has also submitted their DNA for ancestry testing.
Unfortunately, depending on the privacy policy of the family history site you’re using, even obtaining your gene sequence may still not be enough to help reconnect with lost loved ones. That said, in the hands of a private investigator who knows how to work with DNA results, it may become easier to locate missing relatives than it once was.
Or, you may hit the jackpot and discover an unknown relative living in the same town as you. With the cost of ancestral DNA testing being pushed down by increasing competition, it may be possible to obtain the bulk of the information you need to start your search for less than an expensive date night out with your spouse.