At AdopteeBridge, we acknowledge and understand not all adoptees want to search or meet birth family relatives. At the same time, we recognize there is a large portion of adoptees who yearn to search and meet a member of their biological family. Several adoptees also yearn to learn more about their background, heritage, ethnicity, etc. With the advancements in DNA testing and technology, it has provided not only the general public, but also adoptees and birth families another way to search for one another, but also to learn more about their heritage.

The following is an excellent article of an adoptee, Christina Bottley, reflecting why she did a DNA test.

With the boom of DNA testing, I have been back and forth for 2 years about wanting to do a test. Part of me really wanted to find out my ancestry origins, while another part of me didn’t want to because of where it might lead with being connected to long lost relatives or even my birth parents. However, as I have been researching and interacting with other Korean adoptees, I have felt the curiosity inside stir within. So, a month ago I ordered my DNA kit. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous and scared. I wasn’t nervous about the ancestry origins, but mostly about if I would be matched to any relatives and what that would then lead to. But, I decided that I would handle whatever came my way at that moment, and do my test....

I started to cry. I shared with my husband that I finally feel that a lifelong weight has been lifted off my shoulders. The mystery has been solved, and I finally have a clear picture of my origins. I’m not closing the door on the possibility of finding my birth parents, but I do know one thing. Even if I never find them, I am okay with it because knowing my ancestry origin has finally given me the identity that I have been searching for...

Click on the link to read the full article.