What Kiwis are finding out with DNA testing for their ancestry

Saturday, 24 March 2018

A lot of people are now using a DNA test for the starting point of looking into family history, says DNA expert Brad Argent.

A loss of a 'grand narrative' for younger generations could be behind many of them taking DNA tests.

Eighteen to 24-year-olds make up a small number of those getting personal genetic tests, but that is increasing.

DNA expert Brad Argent from Ancestry.com said people wanted connection to something bigger than themselves.

'You're seeing a lot of younger people doing it people doing it because [it is] the search for identity.

* The DNA mapping craze is delivering some unwelcome surprises**

'One of the challenges I think we have in Western culture is we've lost the grand narratives that our parents and grandparents had. You know, religious narratives or big cultural narratives - feeling connected to something that is bigger than ourselves.

'And I think what younger people are doing with DNA is looking at that … and seeing this connection to Celtic culture or Scandinavian culture and trying to find some connection to a bigger story, a bigger sense of belonging to the world.'

WHY ARE KIWIS DNA TESTING?

Countries like New Zealand and Australia had a higher rate of DNA testing per capita, Argent said.

'I think what's driving that is we all know that we come from somewhere else, because our countries are young from a Western cultural perspective.

Argent helped Superfad hosts Katie Kenny and, several years ago, Laura Walters, trace their family history and ethnic makeup using saliva samples.

'We have questions about where we might have come from … and we're seeking to have those questions answered. More so than, perhaps, the UK, where people think, 'oh our family has lived in this country for 500 years'.

'I think that's what's driving that [interest] … from countries that are built on immigration.'

New Zealand results were what you'd expect - primarily Irish, Scottish, Celtic ancestry, plus British, Western European and of course Polynesian.

SEARCHING FOR HISTORY

A lot of people had begun using a DNA test as the starting point of looking into family history, Argent said.

The broad category of those interested in DNA mapping was 45-plus.

'It's quite easy to do, you provide a genetic sample, you get your results back, and it gives you a whole bunch of information about where your ancestors may have come from.

'The other thing it does is connect you to other people who have done the test.'

Often, that meant it could instantly connect people to relatives.

In other cases, people could wait for years until someone related took the test.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Sometimes it meant connections you couldn't explain, Argent said.

'We do see that happening, particularly people who are adopted. Many of them are turning to DNA to help find a birth family.'

People were turning to DNA testing because it was easier than going through records - if they even existed, he said.

'They are people going out on a specific quest … but we find people who discover half siblings they didn't know existed.

'A couple of instances of people who were conceived thorough a donor sperm process are finding half siblings out there who were conceived by the same process.

'It is really changing the way we see relationships. And because it is a genetic process, it bypasses everything and says 'OK, this is the biology, this is how you two people are connected'.

'Then it's up to you to have the conversations with mum and dad to see what they know.'

It can be quite confronting, Argent said.

Before people take the test, he advised they sit down and talk to their parents about it.

'Let them know. It might give them the opportunity to disclose something.'

This strays into an ethical issue.

'When you do a DNA test, it's your genetic material. You have every right to do what you can with it. But because your mum and dad are the ones who gave it to you, when you test yourself, in some way you're testing your parents, but you're also testing your siblings.

'So you have to be aware of that. For you, this might be quite exciting or thrilling prospect but for parents or even for siblings they could react quite differently.'

WHAT ELSE DNA TESTS TELL YOU

Kenny and Walters used DNA analysis to discover more about their ancestry.

Increasingly, the tests were being used to identify traits, Argent said.

You could find out if you had a fast metabolism. Or if you were likely to develop Alzheimers.

Having that information was one thing, but understanding it and doing something about it was another thing altogether.

Ancestry.com didn't offer those services, but there was a huge future in that aspect of DNA testing, Argent said.

WHAT'S DNA TESTING ALL ABOUT?

In the latest episode of Stuff's Superfad podcast, hosts Katie Kenny and Laura Walters examined the DNA mapping craze and reported on it.

Here's their summary.

On April 14, 2003, scientists announced they had completed the Human Genome Project, an international, billion-dollar effort to compile a list of the letters of genetic code that make up a so-called everyperson's DNA. In other words: a genetic blueprint for building a human being.

Today, thanks to 'direct-to-consumer' genetic tests, we can have our DNA analysed for about $100.

The tests require less than a quarter of a teaspoon of saliva to shed light on a person's ancestry and, with permission, identify genetic relatives.

Through add-on services, genealogists can help people dig deeper and find out more about deceased and living family members.

These companies and others can also provide health reports, telling people about their physical traits and in some cases even screening for dozens of hereditary diseases.

Some experts are worried about the ethical risks associated with presenting such complex information in an overly simplified format.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns people to 'think before you spit' and points out 'evidence on the ability of genetic information to change health behaviour has been lacking'.

It quotes recent commentary in Nature from Harvard University's Dr Zak Kohane, who said when it comes to personal genetic tests, 'we really have a perfect storm of insufficient data and insufficient competence'.

Wellington-based Dr Katherine Neas, clinical leader of the Genetic Health Service central hub, said the general public wasn't well-prepared to handle genetic test results, and neither were many physicians.

But rather than telling people to avoid the tests, which she described as 'a part of modern life', she would prefer better education around genetics and genomics, so people can 'engage with the technology safely'.