MyHeritage Closed Applications to DNA Quest

MyHeritage announced that it has closed applications to DNA Quest, a pro bono initiative that was created for the purpose of helping adoptees and their birth families to find each other. MyHeritage put together an informative blog post about the project and what happens next.

When DNA Quest launched, it was open to adoptees that were seeking to find their biological family members, and also to parents and other family members who were looking for a child they had placed in adoption years ago. MyHeritage gave priority to people who were not able to afford genetic testing.

The application period for DNA Quest has closed, but those who are interested can apply to be on the waiting list. MyHeritage said that the DNA Quest pro bono project intended to provide 15,000 free MyHeritage DNA kits to adoptees and their family members to help them reunite. 68 percent of the applications MyHeritage received were from adoptees searching for their biological families; 13 percent were from close family members searching for adoptees, and the rest were people who described their situation as “other”. MyHeritage says that 70 percent of the applicants were women, and 30 percent were men.

A total of 17,000 applications were submitted to DNA Quest. Those applications were submitted by people from 77 countries around the world. Here is a quick look at where the applications came from:

* United States – 13,716 applications
* Canada – 616 applications
* Australia – 473 applications
* UK – 329 applications
* the Netherlands – 210 applications
* Sweden – 210 applications
* Brazil – 95 applications
* France – 64 applications
* And a smaller number of applications from China, Greece, Japan, Morocco, Nepal, Peru and many more countries

What happens next with DNA Quest? MyHeritage can begin the selection process. This means that, now that the application timeframe has ended, MyHeritage can go through the applications and make decisions about who to include.

Participants will be selected and all applicants will be notified of their status by May 16, 2018. Free DNA kits will be shipped to participants by May 31, 2018, and results can be expected as early as July 2018. DNA Quest participants will be matched against the entire database of MyHeritage DNA which currently consists of 1.4 million people, and continues to grow daily.

MyHeritage has made significant investments to ensure user’s accounts and personal details are secured by multiple layers of encryption. Only you manage your DNA privacy settings and have access to your raw DNA data and your DNA results. All testing is done in MyHeritage’s world-leading CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory in Houston, Texas.

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* MyHeritage Launched DNA Quest

* November is National Adoption Month

* New Jersey Law Makes Finding Records Easier for Adoptees