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In 2021, the Commission Investigation Intercountry Adoption (Joustra Commission) concluded that, under the supervision of the Dutch government, serious misconduct had taken place in intercountry adoptions in the previous century. Adoptees who wanted to search for their biological family found errors in their adoption files or discovered they had no adoption file at all. Without information on their origins, it is either impossible or extremely complicated to search for family or answer questions about identity.
Following the report by the Joustra Commission, intercountry adoptions were suspended (although they are now possible again), and an Expertise Centre Intercountry Adoption was established. This Centre was supposed to support adoptees in their search for family members and offer psychosocial and legal assistance. However, without documents, there can be no search, right?
In recent years, commercial DNA databases have been growing in both number and size. Individuals can send their DNA (by spitting into a tube or swabbing their cheek with a cotton bud) to these companies. These companies can then inform them about their ancestral origins and whether they like coriander (at least, they claim they can). Additionally, these DNA databases also offer a Relative Finder. Here, the DNA is compared with all (often millions) of other DNA profiles in the database to find a match: a family member.
The Scientific Research and Documentation Centre (WODC; part of the Ministry of Justice and Security) asked Dialogic to investigate whether the Expertise Centre should recommend the use of these commercial DNA databases to adoptees. Additionally, an assessment framework had to be developed to guide the choice of a specific DNA database. The full report, including the assessment framework in response, can be found here.
We found that there are few technical objections to using commercial DNA databases. The tests themselves are reliable and have a low false positive and false negative rate. However, statistically, the chance of finding a match with a family member (close enough to start a search) is extremely small - even in the largest database. Databases are generally filled with Western DNA profiles and not with profiles from the countries adoptees originate from. These profiles are crucial to begin a search. When deciding whether or not to use DNA databases, legal considerations are also important. What happens to your (highly personal) data and who has access to it? The databases investigated here all met the minimum requirements for a responsible and secure handling of DNA material. Thirdly, finding a family member is often an emotional process for adoptees. The extent to which DNA databases provide psychosocial support varies greatly. This social aspect can also be taken into account in our consideration framework when choosing to use a DNA database.
For further questions about this research, please contact the project leader Robbin te Velde (tevelde@dialogic.nl). Robbin will also be speaking on 26th September 2022 at the Knowledge Café of the Ministry of Justice and Security about this research.