It sounds fun: doing a DNA test to see which country your ancestors come from. But the tests also raise questions about reliability and privacy. “Only do them for a good reason,” experts say to NU.nl.
You can hardly ignore it: influencers who have taken a DNA test and share the results on social media. They are often paid for this, but anyone can request them. The tests are already available from around seventy euros.
Behind the tests are often large companies, such as the American Ancestry or the Israeli MyHeritage. Ancestry has sold the most tests worldwide, but MyHeritage generally returns more Dutch matches.
Roughly speaking, there are three main types of tests: descent, kinship and risk of disease. According to Marc van Mil, associate professor of Biomedical Sciences at Utrecht University and researcher at UMC Utrecht, the reliability depends on the type of test being performed.
Statements are not always reliable
Where the DNA tests are quite reliable in the field of kinship, they are not so in the field of ancestry and risk of disease. According to Van Mil, this is not so much due to the tests themselves, but to the conclusion that the companies then link to them.
“Medical tests tell whether you have an increased risk of common diseases based on your DNA. For example, someone can have an increased risk of lung cancer. The companies thus suggest that DNA is decisive in this. While no one’s lifestyle, for example whether someone smokes,” says the researcher.
There are also questions about the statements made by the companies in terms of origin. For example, it is sometimes said that you are 25 percent Greek or Italian. But the tests can’t tell you where your DNA comes from, only where your DNA has been found before.
Worry about what happens to the data
In addition to reliability, there are also privacy concerns, says Marieke van Dooren, vice-chairman of the Netherlands Clinical Genetics Association. “European DNA companies must comply with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and inform consumers about what happens to their data. But there is less supervision and control across the European border.”
In addition, DNA companies sometimes resell the data. “If people give permission for this, then that’s fine. But I doubt whether they are sufficiently informed about this and also understand what that exactly means,” says Van Dooren. The Consumers’ Association also concluded earlier that four large DNA companies carelessly deal with privacy.
Outcome to find your biological family
Yet the tests can also be a huge outcome, says family detective Els Leijs. She has been helping people with the search for their biological (grand)fathers for thirty years. “In the past, we could only find these people if you had a name or address, for example. Since 2014 I have been working with DNA and we put our clients in various international databases.”
According to Leijs, it often happens that people find their biological family through such a DNA test. She therefore calls it “an outcome”. “You always have to wait and see whether someone in your family has also done such a test, otherwise there is nothing to compare. But for many people this is a great solution. Especially if you have no clue.”
