I started my birth family search just over three years ago. I will post more in-depth about that process later, but for now, I have heard nothing back. This has left me in a bit of a holding pattern - waiting to find out if the information I have is true, and if it is false, waiting to find out the truth, if there is any to know. The waiting is the hardest part, knowing that whatever news may come will only create more questions.
I recently heard about Korean adoptees finding other adoptee relatives through the DNA testing site 23andMe. I don't normally spend $100 on a whim, but this was something I needed. I ordered my kit on September 6, and my complete results were posted on October 10. It was an anxious 5 weeks. I joined the KAD 23andMe Results Group on facebook to commiserate about the waiting process with others and talk about results.
Why was this so important to me? Up until 3 days ago I was not related to anyone else. I now have 55 distant cousins. One I had previously met at an adoptee gathering. I'm no longer a lone single floating dot - I am connected genetically to others. This is meaningful to me. Another piece of the puzzle.
I admit to being disappointed at not finding any closer relatives. Some folks have found 2nd or 3rd cousins - mine were all 4th to distant. But it's still more than what I had before, and the 23andMe community is always growing, so there's always the potential to find more relatives.
I don't know what I will do with this new information. But just having it is exciting.
(sidebar: My health information didn't lend anything particularly illuminating - most of the data is based off people with European ancestry and for better or for worse, nothing big came up. But for other folks I think that health information can be really useful.)
Curious? Try it out. Let's be cousins!
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