TITLE: Adoptees & Pros/Cons of DNA Testing

DESCRIPTION

Many of us adoptees are lacking information regarding our origins. In this age of developing technology, most of us have access to DNA information as well as potentially finding relatives via genetic testing, however does that mean we should? The decision to complete a DNA test has many layers and complexities. Join us as we discuss the pros and cons of DNA testing.

• Why aren’t we talking about the racial inequity in gathering DNA data?

• What happens when the DNA data is different from one brand to another?

• What is the ripple effect of DNA testing? Who are the people that are impacted beyond the adoptee?

• Do adoptive parents have a right to access information on the adoptees behalf?

PANELIST

Jordan Davis is a domestic, Black transracial adoptee from the Midwest. At an early age, Jordan was able to connect with one of his younger biological brothers, who was also adopted but by another family. Jordan traveled to Louisiana with his brother to meet their first/birth mother, their other siblings, and unexpectedly, their first/birth father in 2019. Several months after reunion, however, Jordan learned additional information regarding the identity of his first/birth father. Jordan is currently navigating the pros and cons of DNA testing as a domestic adoptee and as a person of African descent.

Kara Bos is a transracial adoptee from South Korea, at the age of two she came to the United states where she was raised in Michigan, she now lives in Amsterdam. Kara was able to find a nephew through a DNA match which recently led her to find her biological father. She has worked to legally prove that he is her father which would make it possible for them to meet. This experience proved to be much more complex because of hostility from other family members. Kara is passionate about sharing her experience on a world platform, with the hope that she is able to uplift the adoptee voice to secure fundamental adoptee rights and ultimately bring effective change for the future.

Saiming Wenger was adopted when she was just over one year old from Jiangxi, China to a LGBTQ+ family. At the age of 3, they adopted her younger sister who is also from China. Saiming has participated and volunteered with Adoption Mosaic for years. She is currently not in reunion with her birth family, but has used 23&Me to start her search. She is excited to share both her hesitation and excitement of the pros and cons of DNA testing.

Abby Hilty was adopted as an infant from Bogotá, Colombia to a suburb of New York City. She grew up as an only child and always dreamt of one day finding her mother in Colombia. In 2012 Abby was (re)united with her mother and the maternal half of her family. Five years later, Abby worked with 16 fellow Colombian adoptees to publish the book, Decoding Our Origins: The Lived Experiences of Colombian Adoptees. All proceeds from the anthology go toward purchasing DNA kits for first families in Colombia and helping Colombian adoptees worldwide to get affordable DNA kits. Abby believes all adoptees and immediate first family members should have access to affordable DNA kits and be fully informed about the potential pros and cons of DNA testing if they decide to test.