ICSA
DNA TESTING FOR CHINESE ADOPTEES
When you’re searching for Chinese birth family members, it’s critically important to do a SNP (also called autosomal) DNA test through 23andMe and upload it to GEDmatch. You can also do a STR (also called paternity/CODIS) DNA test and upload it to Chinese databases.
Download a pdf of this information here
SNP DNA Test [also called autosomal]
Start with a SNP/autosomal test first. Be sure to keep a record of names, birthdates, and login information, since any of it may be required as extra security questions.
STEP 1
Do one or both of these SNP/autosomal tests.
23andMe
Most Chinese adoptees are in 23andMe, and you typically find more people of Chinese heritage in this database than any other U.S. SNP company. 23andMe is a saliva test.
AncestryDNA
If you choose, you can supplement your 23andMe test with AncestryDNA, another SNP test. Some searchers have found Chinese relatives here, and adoptive families not involved in China-related Facebook groups may have also tested with AncestryDNA. This is a saliva test.
STEP 2
Download your 23andMe or AncestryDNA raw data and upload it to GEDmatch.
IMPORTANT: No matter which SNP/autosomal test you do, be sure to UPLOAD YOUR RESULTS TO GEDMATCH. As of March 2024, there are over 1,100 Chinese birth parents in GEDmatch, thanks to the work of DNAConnect, Nanchang Project, Roots of Love, and searchers in China.
GEDmatch
How-to Guide: Uploading 23andMe to Gedmatch
Upload your raw data file to GEDmatch. This is FREE and easy to do. GEDmatch accepts uploads from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritageDNA, and most others. You can also compare your own 23andMe and AncestryDNA results within GEDmatch. You may receive different matches from the two tests.
STEP 3
Upload your raw data to one or both Chinese commercial databases.
Upload your raw SNP/autosomal DNA to the two primary Chinese companies, 23mofang and WeGene. There have been at least two matches for adoptees through 23mofang, and both sites give you information about which provinces and cities have people genetically closest to you.
How-to Guide: Uploading DNA to 23mofang
Accepts uploads for a fee (approx. $45 USD) from 23andMe, AncestryDNA. The database is kept in China. It’s a little challenging to use if you can’t read Chinese; use Google Chrome to translate.
Accepts uploads from 23andMe and AncestryDNA with payment through PayPal (199RMB or ~$30USD). The database is kept in China.
Tip: Use the English site to create your account and upload your DNA data, but then use the Chinese site, with Google Chrome to translate, to see relative matches and additional information not visible on the English site.
STEP 4
Upload your raw data to additional US databases.
Also consider uploading your SNP/autosomal data to the following databases. These are all free and increase your chances of matching more people.
Accepts free uploads from AncestryDNA and MyHeritageDNA. This is also a swab test and may be a good alternative to 23andMe or AncestryDNA for those who can't generate enough saliva.
Accepts free uploads from AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, Living DNA. MyHeritage is also a swab test and a good alternative for those who can't generate enough saliva.
Accepts free uploads from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritageDNA, FamilyTreeDNA.
IMPORTANT
DON'T FORGET!
Please check your account(s) at least monthly for new matches!
If you get a message or see a match that shows an identical twin or sibling, please check first who the match is. You could have accidently uploaded your/your child’s DNA twice.
STR DNA Test [also called paternity/CODIS]
Several databases only take results from STR (aka paternity/CODIS) tests, the most common DNA test in China right now. With a STR test, you will only find a match to someone close, like a parent or identical twin. Depending on the database, you can add your DNA either by doing a test with a commercial lab and sending your results, or by mailing a dried blood sample on a test card.
IMPORTANT: Since STR tests check far fewer markers than SNP/autosomal tests, it’s critical to be sure any matches are good ones. You can compare details like birthdates, where the samples are from, etc., and you can also ask the Chinese police to do a STR test on both parents, which would guarantee accuracy. The police won’t do a SNP/autosomal test, which many in the adoption community believe should be the only follow up. You can ask the birth parents or siblings to do a SNP/autosomal test for confirmation, but sometimes it’s tricky negotiating that when you’ve first met. If you’re able to convince a parent or sibling, both DNAConnect and Nanchang Project will do a follow-up SNP/autosomal test for free. A bonus is that their test is also uploaded to GEDmatch, which may lead to matches for other adoptees.
STEP 1
Decide WHERE to add your STR DNA.
There are also local volunteer groups in China with their own databases, such as one in Jiangyin, Jiangsu and one for Zhejiang province. Check with the province search poster manager for your province to find out if they know of any in your area.
Method: commercial lab results or dried blood sample card
Options to Submit Your DNA to the National Database Without Traveling to China
Chinese National and Local Databases
There are a few ways to enter your STR DNA into the national database in China. If you're visiting China, you can leave a DNA sample at the Ministry of Public Security (police station); see a list of locations here. It's free, but the uploads haven’t always been reliable. And unfortunately, there’s no way for you to monitor or even see your data to know whether it was submitted.
Submit it yourself. You send your dried blood sample card directly to the family reunion police officer and stay in touch with him through WeChat. You must have a WeChat account. You’ll need to be sure your contact information is kept up to date so that the officer can get in touch with you if there’s a match. See Step 2 below for instructions.
Have DNAConnect submit it for you. DNAConnect will submit your commercial lab results for you anonymously so that only DNAConnect will know your identity. If there’s a match to just to one birth parent, they will conduct a follow-up SNP/autosomal test and upload the results to GEDmatch for verification. Also If you traveled to China in the past and left a DNA sample with the police, DNAConnect can verify that the sample was actually submitted. The fee for either of these services is $25. Email BrianStuy@Research-China.org.
Baby Come Home/Baobeihuijia
How-to Guide: How to Search on Baby Come Home
This is a Chinese website started by Chinese parents whose children were abducted or went missing (baobeihuijia.com). It has listings of Chinese birth parents looking for children, domestic Chinese adoptees looking for their birth parents, ads for lost adults, and internationally adopted children looking for birth parents. If you open the website in Google Chrome, you can automatically translate the site into English or other language of choice.
To register with Baby Come Home, join the Facebook group Baby Home. Look in the files section of the Baby Home Facebook group for information on how to register.
You can also submit STR DNA to Baby Come Home on a dried blood sample card, but they do not have their own DNA database; they will add you to the China national database for comparison.
Method: dried blood sample card
Help for Family Reunion (HFFR)
Email your STR DNA results to Help for Family Reunion, a private non-profit organization in China that has helped to reunite 800+ families since it was established in 2015. The database is kept in the U.S. Follow HFFR on Facebook to see new matches posted.
E-mail the STR DNA info below to BeeHFFR@gmail.com
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Name – SWI assigned name is OK (Indicate which name to use in the database, Chinese OR English)
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Photo of DNA results. You can remove your real name and address for privacy concerns.
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Date of birth
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Gender
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Current residing country
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Contact info – customized WeChat ID (don’t send WeChat code) preferred. Email is OK.
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Pictures (2) – 1 headshot and 1 full body preferred
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Adoption info – a few lines on where you were adopted, your finding place, your special physical features, etc.
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If you don’t get confirmation in a week, email again or WeChat meefengbz
STEP 2
Collect your STR/Paternity/CODIS DNA as needed.
Dried Blood Sample Card
The test involves putting some blood on a special blood collection card and mailing the dried blood to a family reunion police officer in China. Cost is minimal. You can order the required card from a US adoptive mom for $5 including postage, or from a European adoptee for about the same cost. The cost to mail an envelope to China via USPS is about $20-$30 and may be cheaper from other countries.
Contact Kathy through WeChat at lygchinamom or scan her QR code for instructions on collecting and mailing a sample.
Commercial Lab STR/Paternity/CODIS Test
LabCorp - USA, purchase the at-home single party test for $105. (New York residents can't order the at-home test, but will need to go to the local LabCorp office for the DNA test; cost is around $210.)
DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC), offered at a discount through DNAConnect - $80 if you use USPS, or $95 if you select FedEx. Contact Mary Hult at 513-645-8886 or mhult@dnacenter.com to order, and tell her that DNAConnect sent you to get the discount.
Consanguinitas - Netherlands, €149
PappaTest - Sweden, SEK 1,195
EasyDNA - based in UK, with worldwide offices, £99
Who's Testing Birth Parents?
DNAConnect
DNAConnect.Org has located over 1,000 Chinese birthparents who are searching for children they relinquished, and uploaded their DNA to GEDmatch. As of March 2024, they have successfully matched 183 adoptees to their birth families.
Note: DNAConnect.Org charges to release birth parent contact information to the adoptee – $50 if your donation is made before a match and $299 if made after a match. However, if you provide contact information for a birth family in China, any future match to you through DNAConnect will also be free of fees to you. DNAConnect will collect and process SNP/autosomal DNA for any birth family that is located and also stay in contact with them over the next 10 years or longer until a match is made. See this Facebook post for a full explanation of DNAConnect's fees.
Nanchang Project & The Roots of Love
Nanchang Project has located 250+ birth parents and matched 50+ adoptees to their families. Both Nanchang Project and The Roots of Love add birthparent DNA to GEDmatch through 23Mofang tests completed by birth parents in China. All matches are free of charge.
Chinese Searchers
A number of private searchers working in China have started to add birth parent DNA to GEDmatch. Find information on searchers on the ICSA website