Get a FREE Autosomal DNA Test (and help with scientific research at the same time)!

Have you been wanting to get a DNA test done; but, don’t have the money for one of the “Big Three” (Ancestry, 23andMe, FamilytreeDNA))?

Genes For Good is a FREE option that will not only give you a chance to get a DNA test done for FREE; but, you will also be helping with scientific research! (How cool is that?!!)

In order to get the test done for FREE, you will need to answer some health questions and participate in at least a minimum of about three days worth of “daily tracking”. Once you have completed a minimum amount of surveys, you are added to a list to receive a free “spit test” to have your DNA analyzed. Most of the surveys are very quick and easy. It only takes me about a minute (or maybe two on a slow day) to answer the “daily tracking” surveys. Most of the other health related surveys are also pretty quick and easy - though they do have a couple that take about 10-15 minutes (memory function type tests…).

The neat thing about the surveys is that you do not have to take any that you do not wish to take. They have several to choose from; and, once you meet the minimum, you could stop taking them at any time. (I think it’s neat, so I opted to take them all - which is why/how I managed to get to the “Silver Level” after just three days.).

I’ve been checking out posts on their Facebook page to set my own expectations on when I might be able to expect to receive my spit test. I figure it might take a couple of months to even receive the kit; then, once I return it, it will probably take a couple more months to get the results back. I’m totally OK with that ~ because… it’s FREE! (Plus, I have already tested with Ancestry and have my results through them, so there is no urgency at all… :wink: :slight_smile: )

http://genesforgood.sph.umich.edu

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You might be wondering what on earth you would do with the raw DNA results…

Here are some links to look into. (NOTE: I am not saying that all of these are “right” for YOU. Please do your research and decide which options - if any - you are comfortable with for your situation and beliefs.)

GEDmatch (https://www.gedmatch.com)

Family Tree DNA (https://www.familytreedna.com)

My Heritage (https://www.myheritage.com)

Promethease (https://promethease.com)

DNA Land (https://dna.land)

Geneknot (https://geneknot.com)

DNA Gedcom (http://dnagedcom.com)

ImputeMe (http://www.impute.me)

openSNP (https://opensnp.org)

codegen.eu (https://codegen.eu)

There is more info on the International Society of Genetic Genealogy Wiki | Autosomal DNA tools page: https://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_DNA_tools

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Thanks for posting! My dad was adopted so I’ve always been curious…
Just not curious enough to pay!

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Just beware who owns or licenses the results of your test.

Lots of debate around this and not all is clear:

From Snopes

“Signing up for Ancestry.com’s DNA test requires that you license your DNA data to them, and this data could potentially be shared by them with third parties.”

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There are a lot of questions and concerns around police access to the data. As a paranoid security engineer, I’ll skip it… but if I had to do one, I think it’d be most fun to fly out and do Maury Povich. :smiley:

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I am in the same boat, it might be interesting to see the results, but I would rather not have to license out my DNA data for profit or otherwise, to get it done at an affordable price.

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I’m also concerned about healthcare providers’ access to the data.

I’m guessing it won’t be long before “have you or any of your dependents ever used a commercial DNA testing service?” will be a question you have to answer to get/renew health insurance. Oh, and lying on the application is grounds for terminating the policy, don’tcha know.

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There are a lot of groups on Facebook dedicated to helping - with or without DNA testing.

One of my favorites - with DNA testing - is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DNADetectives.

There’s a related group on Facebook that’s supposed to be real good - for people who have not done DNA testing: https://www.facebook.com/groups/searchelpers

I’ve joined it (as well as several others with DNA testing); but, honestly, I find the DNA Detectives to be the most helpful and active for my needs…

Best wishes in whichever paths you may decide to check out… :slight_smile:

… or like I would like to put it: be Aware


[quote="Raymond, post:5, topic:22446"] lot of questions [/quote]

Questions are good! Definitely do your research to make sure it’s the right thing… for You!


[quote="Tony, post:6, topic:22446"] it might be interesting to see the results [/quote]

It’s definitely interesting! Not just the genetic composition, etc… but all the family “matches” you find if you use any of the family finder tools!


Price isn’t the biggest concern… You can pay $100-$200 for one of the “Big Three”, or nothing at all with “Genes for Good”, or several hundreds of dollars for “private” testing… The reality is: no matter what type of health test anyone takes - unless you are going for something that’s truly anonymous (which wouldn’t be the case if you want a copy of the results… :wink: ), any type of medical test - DNA or otherwise - is always at some risk. Only a couple of months ago, I received a phishing letter from the “super secure” web portal that one of my doctors uses… I alerted them to the issue; but, no-one ever replied to me. I’m not sure if they got it taken care of or not… Talk about a disappointment. Of course, I didn’t provide a “new password” to the phishing attempt; but, I can’t help but to wonder how many people did… :scream:

That being said, I do understand the concern. I did read up on the pros and cons; and, decided it was still something that I wanted to do. :slight_smile:


This was one of the things I thought about the most…

But, then I realized that to be perfectly honest, if “they” wanted to know - they already have tons of ways of finding out what I may have the chance to be “predisposed” to - while they are testing me for things that I am at a doctor’s office for other reasons. Even if someone doesn’t already have a DNA test under their wings; it would not be too far fetched to learn that at some point the required “medical exams” to get some types of life insurance won’t either require something along those lines, or at a very minimum - run “panels” to test for specific items you may already have going on.


Regardless of whether this type of thing is something that you would be interested in doing or not, I wanted to share - for those who may be interested. I do appreciate everyone’s responses! It’s nice to have people look out for each other! :heart_eyes:

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