The Pros and Cons of Genealogy DNA Testing

There are now more and more people looking at genetic testing to help find out who they are and what health risks they may face in life.

However a lot of people aren’t sure DNA tests are for them, for a couple of good reasons:

Further complicating matters are the recent explosion in test choices: it can be difficult to find the right specific test to use to help map out your family tree, screen for health risks and determine paternity. Each type of test comes with its own accuracy and privacy issues.

Here are a few of the more common pros and cons of genetic testing to consider, before making your own choice.

Learn About Potential Medical Conditions

One of the biggest pros of using a genealogy DNA test has to be the fact that many men and women can now find out how likely they are to develop serious medical conditions, based upon their family history.Now many can be aware of how at risk they are

Now many can be aware of how at risk they are at contracting diseases that could be life-threatening and sometimes, genetic testing can help establish the risk.

Using one of the popular online DNA test services like FamilyTreeDNA.com, you can match your DNA to that of others and make an offline connection to discuss your family risks.

Help Future Generations

Another of the biggest benefits of a genetic test is that the information doctors find in your DNA can be placed into a database and used in studies that help all of mankind.

This helps to ensure doctors are able to help treat serious diseases later in life. It could help to treat children now and potentially in the future too.

Not 100% Accurate

The biggest con that comes with genetic testing is probably the fact it doesn’t offer complete and utter accuracy.

Now like most things in life, nothing is totally accurate and it’s the same with a genealogy test.  In general, ancestry DNA tests are only highly accurate back 2 or 3 generations, at which point other types of information are required to validate your connection.

But the benefits of doing so might outweigh the risk of being wrong.

For example, if you were told you were at a greater risk of developing a certain life-threatening disease like lung cancer, then you would take steps to avoid it – like to quit smoking?

That said, if you didn’t contract lung cancer, was it really because you avoided smoking?

That is one issue with accuracy because you can’t know for sure. You need to make a human connection with far-flung relations to understand the true risk.

Lack of Privacy

Since a genetic test is fairly new, there aren’t many laws re. the privacy of the information collected.

When you submit to genealogy DNA testing, there is nothing to say the information collected will actually remain private. This is a big con and a very big issue many people have today because they do not want their personal information broadcasted everywhere. Most people are wary of using these types of tests simply because of the privacy factor.

Is A Genetic Test Right For You?

To be honest, many people who are going to say that they really aren’t sure about whether genetic testing is right for them.

You can find more information at The Tech, Museum of Innovation, regarding genetic tests.

Of course, DNA testing is quite accurate and can help a lot of people find out more about themselves and their health risks, but it does present a few issues like privacy.

So, is a genealogy test really the right route for you to take?