Getting my DNA breakdown from My Heritage DNA
I'm one of those people who for years have wondered what my DNA makeup is comprised of. I've heard various things regarding my mother's side all of my life. But I didn't know my father's side, so it still left a lot of unanswered questions. When I researched my last name (my dad's last name) it comes up that it is a German name. I had been wanting to take one of the DNA tests for a while now to see what the breakdown is. About a month or so ago, I saw it on sale and my husband and I decided to do it. Today, I got the results back!
I found that although the research shows that my maiden last name is German, I'm not actually German. I knew I had some English, but as it turns out I'm predominantly English. It was very interesting to see the results and share them with my family. It also came just in time, because I'm trying to help my son with a family heritage project for school. Now I can give him the accurate info, rather than taking guesses as I've always done in the past.
Having this test done was simple. I chose to get it through MyHeritage, but there are several other places that offer it. You order it online, and they send you a DNA kit. You simply take two cheek swabs with the materials they send, and then send it back to them. After a few weeks, you get the results. It's that simple. If you are concerned about privacy matters, you can request that they destroy the samples after giving you the results. Or you have the option of trying to see if you have family matches in their system. I did a quick search and it matched me with my dad's sister, who is my aunt. While I didn't know his side growing up, their system confirmed that her and I share 17% DNA and they estimate that she is my aunt (we have been Facebook friends for several years). Pretty cool!
If you are like me and would like to know what your DNA breakdown is, consider getting one of these tests. I paid $69 for it on sale, but the regular price is usually $99. Well worth it for the information. I'm glad we got it done!
- Jacqueline
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