Genealogy and DNA Testing

The sequencing of individual DNA in order to know more about a person might arouse disturbing images associated with Brave New World or Gattaca. History has shown that in the wrong hands, genetic information, history of your family and personal origins can be dangerous. So why in the world go down the road of genetic identification in the first place?

There is nothing more unique to an individual than their DNA. To many, the makeup of their DNA is a potentially revelatory and valuable source of information about themselves. Thus, for many privacy advocates, the makeup of their DNA is something to be very jealously guarded. The information contained in our DNA is far more than simply what we are made of and maybe what we might be predisposed to be like. Our unique genetic sequence may also contain valuable keys to our genealogical past and our distant origins. It is now possible to determine what region of the world we came from and even at what time period our ancestors migrated from those areas, if they migrated at all. There is something innate in people that drives them to understand who they are and where their ancestors come from. For this reason, although privacy is a serious concern, the desire to know where we come from may be stronger in many people than the desire to stay completely private. Like thirst, the urge can be ignored for some time but must be satiated. But there is no need to throw out your privacy protection to satisfy this urge for understanding your origins. Personal privacy may still be maintained when linking genealogy and DNA.

Balancing Desire to Know With Demands for Privacy

There are now some organizations which provide a service at a relatively low cost in which they gather your DNA, determine your genetic origins, and maintain that information in a database to improve future searches. Family Tree DNA was made famous in the PBS program African American Lives. Their research is open to anyone who wants to know their origins. Fortunately there are many procedures in place which allow them to provide you with good results without unnecessarily risking your personal information. For example, Family Tree DNA "accepts" the responsibility to keep your personal information private. This promise alone shows a greater commitment and dedication to privacy than you will see in many other forums. If you choose to allow your results to be a part of a genealogical database of ethnic origins, no unique identifying information is included other than the country of origin of your distant ancestor. In addition, other local and international privacy laws are present and control the exchange and protection of personal information. One example is that the Safe Harbor requirements of information transferred from a European Union country to the US are strictly complied with.

Conclusion

Ultimately, there are still some risks to having a genetic sequence taken, such as theft or political risk of disclosure of your private information. The risk of unnecessary disclosure with Family Tree DNA, however, is low. Thus the desire to know more about ourselves by conducting this genetic research is unlikely to seriously conflict with the desire of many people to maintain high levels of personal privacy. Unless you are among the more strict adherents to the principles of the book How To Vanish, the disclosures required for genetic testing performed by Family Tree DNA are a small indulgence that will probably not result in serious breach of privacy.