When it comes to DNA testing for your genealogy, you don't want to spend your money without fully understanding what you are getting for your dollars, and who's behind the company that is servicing you.
Since May 2000, when Family Tree DNA and the Arizona Research Labs pioneered the use of DNA testing for genealogy purposes, other companies have entered this market and others will come. Therefore, when choosing a company that will handle your DNA, these are the questions one should ask before making a decision:
1. Do I need to know who is performing my test?
Remember, you are going to hand over your DNA, in other words, your fingerprint. Therefore the first question you should ask yourself is - who is going to be in possession of my DNA? In some way, you can think of the following similar situation: you have your lifetime savings at home and now you want to deposit
them in a bank. Will you give your money to someone that tells you "Don't worry about which bank I will be depositing it in for you. Trust me, I can't tell you which bank it is, but believe me, it's a good bank."? Of course you wouldn't do that with your money. So why would you do it with your DNA?
Family Tree DNA's lab is the Arizona Research Lab at the University of Arizona, one of the top genetics labs in the world. In other words, when we extract your DNA you know exactly which institution has it, and better than that, the lab only has
your DNA associated to a number and a surname. By doing it this way, they know nothing about you and your privacy is ensured.
2. Who are the scientists behind the company that is offering the tests?
Now, you would want to know who is performing the test that you have ordered: is it just a commercial lab where this is one of the tests being sold or is it a lab where the science of genetics applied to genealogy and anthropology was born and is in constant development? Look for the other labs' "About" page. Check the faces and the bios of the people behind the company. The scientists behind Family Tree DNA's lab are leading authors or contributors of peer reviewed papers on Y-DNA and mtDNA. Dr. Michael Hammer, is one of the top geneticists in the world who created the conditions for this new tool to be available to genealogists. Dr. Bruce Walsh, leading population geneticist, developed and published the
calculations to calculate the Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor which are even
used by our competitors. Dr. Alan Reed is the discoverer of many markers used not only in our panels, but
have also been adopted by our competitors'. We believe that the fact that these 3U. of Arizona scientists have a seat on Family Tree DNA's Advisory Board
should make you feel comfortable with the science behind your DNA test.
3. How do I know when more markers do not mean better results?
This is also an important question. As this field of Genetic Genealogy progresses, more companies will enter the market to offer their services, and some of them may
try to focus on the fact that they have more markers. However in science quantity does not necessarily mean quality. The important thing to know about markers is "how volatile
are the marker". In essence we focus on better markers rather then more markers.
As an example, we have a case of a family that tested with another lab, and then decided to add some of our markers to their results: while we increased the total number of markers by
only 15%, our markers were responsible for an increase of 50% in the number of
mutations. Remember this is about quality and volatility not just about "how
many markers'.
4. How reliable are my results?
Reliability of results is the primary concern of Family Tree DNA. We won't release results if we are not 100% sure of them,
and we'll error on the side of retesting any sample that doesn't produce a clear
and unambiguous result. That might cause a delay in results return, but quality
and accuracy are job #1. One of the reasons why we don't ask for the family pedigree, is that we want the lab to do a completely blind test, without any information that may "help" solving the puzzle of a hard to read allele length, by comparing the result to someone else that has tested. We'd rather
re-run your sample until we get a result in which we feel 100% confident.
5. What do I get with my results?
In addition of knowing that your test was performed by the only lab that
discoverers markers and writes Anthropology papers, we offer you to be part of the largest genealogical DNA database in the world.
We also have the following unique features, that no other lab in the world offers:
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Comparative database for matching purposes with over 20,000
samples
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Recent Ethnic Origins database where your results are compared to indicate where you ancestors may have come from
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Haplogroup suggestion: based on an algorythm developed by the scientists that work with Family Tree DNA, we can suggest with 92%
degree of certainty your Haplogroup - which indicates your deepest ancestral origins
-
Haplogroup confirmation test - in case you wish to confirm
with 100% certainty your Haplogroup, only Family Tree DNA offers this type
of test
It is also worth mentioning that having performed the largest volume of DNA tests for genealogy purposes, we are are now sponsoring the first study of its kind in the world, which is being done by the University of Arizona, which will update mutation rates vs. number of generations. This landmark study will allow our customers to have new parameters to calculate the Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor between matches and close matches.
(any wonder why our competitors want to 'adopt' our novel markers)
6. How far will the company go in helping me understand my results?
Once you receive your results, you may want some help in understanding their meaning and the different information that we offer at your personal page. We don't have an automated answering service that will ask you questions before you are prompted to leave your message...
During the week our phone calls are answered by our staff - whether it's our President or a Genetic Genealogy Counselor - and we
are fully prepared to answer your questions. If you choose to e-mail us, again, no automated or "cookie cutter" answers. You will receive a personal answer in less than 24 hours,
usually 7 days a week.
An important thing to remember, is that being the lab that has the science, our answers will be first hand answers, with total understanding of the materials. Don't hesitate to contact us. Whether you have tested or you are just thinking of testing, you are far ahead of everybody else and you are entitled to have answers to your questions. We will be happy to provide those answers to you.
A final word: Family Tree DNA was created in April of 2000 out of a quest to verify if my family in California was related to someone in Argentina. As a genealogist for more than 30 years, I had used all the tools
available at that time without being able to remove that brick wall, when I came across a paper lead by Dr. Michael Hammer showing how the Y-DNA could be used to provide an answer to my question. I then contacted Dr. Hammer and the University of Arizona, and together we decided to
collaborate in order to make this science available to our genealogical
community.
Before offering these tests to the public, several individuals and relationships were tested to confirm that this was indeed a tool that would produce
stellar results.
Nothing makes us prouder than the recognition that we have obtained from the genealogical community by making us the world's leading provider of genetic genealogy tests. Thank you!
Bennett Greenspan, President and Founder
Family Tree DNA
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