It is a registry in which participants who have been adopted or the result of assisted reproductive technologies (such as IUI and IVF) can register in the hope of locating biological relatives. The Registry maintains a database for each of the four major countries participating in international adoption and for those resulting from donor reproduction for the purpose of comparing registrants for biological matches using DNA profiles. The Registry is a project of the Center for Information and Research on Adoption, Inc., a nonprofit, 501(c )3 organization and are open to donations at any time to further this important work.

The process of locating relatives, like adoption, can be profound, emotional and complex. The Registry is designed to provide the support services that families will need to understand test results and to contact newly found birth families if a match is found.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE REGISTRY?

While experiences differ, many adoptees experience a strong desire to learn more about their biological family, especially as they grow older. Whether by adoption or donor reproduction, some people may not be aware of all the members of their biological family, wherever they are in the world and in whichever family they may now reside. The Registry can help an adopted child or one conceived by anonymous donor egg or sperm to find half or full siblings, even if the biological parent is not available. In addition, if birth parents register, they may find their biological offspring through the Registry. Like any adoption registry, participation is voluntary, and both participants must agree to contact before information will be shared.

HAVE ANY SIBLINGS CONNECTED THROUGH DNA TESTING?

There have been a number of previous matches made through happenstance when parents have noticed similar features on their child from photographs of other children on various websites and then confirmed matches through DNA testing.  This is one of the reasons that Kinsearch decided to provide this service for adoptees and their families.  We realize that this type of testing with present technology may not find all sibling relationships, it's not fool proof.  But we hope to find many of them.

HOW IS THE DNA TEST DONE?

The procedure is noninvasive and safe. Participants collect a sample of their DNA by rubbing the back of the cheek inside the mouth with a cotton swab. That sample is mailed off in a pre-addressed, protective mailer to the Registry. The Registry submits the sample to the DNA lab, Orchid Genescreen, a project of Orchid Biosciences, Inc., the largest DNA laboratory in the United States. Orchid also works abroad, conducting DNA testing of Guatemalan adoptees for the U.S. Consulate, as well as DNA testing for the Government of Ireland. Orchid is a listed company on the NASDAQ.

The DNA identity profile obtained from the sample is entered into a database of registrants from the participant’s country of origin and checked for a match against all other identity profiles then in the database. It remains in the database for future comparisons as new profiles are entered. If a match is found, both participants are informed and assisted in preparing for contact. Information is exchanged only upon the mutual consent of both parties.

Orchid Laboratories will securely maintain DNA samples until the testing has been finalized and then they will be destroyed after use.  The DNA profiles are held under elaborate security procedures. The DNA lab has no information by which to identify the identity of the participant.

HOW DOES THE DNA SWAB KIT WORK?

The DNA cheek swab kit is fast, plainless and noninvasive. It consists of a simple instruction sheet, sterile cotton swabs, a pair of disposable gloves and a return envelope. It is marked only with the applicant’s ID number provided by the Registry to protect the participant’s privacy. It contains no other identifying information.

The Registry forwards the sample to the DNA lab with only the ID number and non personal identifying information. The DNA sample is analyzed, the results compared to the others in the appropriate database and the results are reported to the Registry. The DNA profile of the sample is then entered in the database for preservation and future comparisons.

WHAT CATEGORIES OF FAMILY MEMBERS CAN I FIND?

The biological family members that a participant can identify depends on the DNA information available. When no biological parental DNA is available, matches with a relatively high degree of accuracy are limited to full siblings. Our Laboratory is working on developing testing that would give us a greater percentage of accuracy in matching half siblings.

If parental DNA is available, matches can include parents, children, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives.

WHO IS ELEGIBLE TO PARTICPATE?

The legal parent(s) or guardian(s) of a minor adoptee or an adult adoptee can apply. In a two parent family, both parents must agree. Participants may withdraw from participation in the databank at any time. Minor participants must consent to remaining in the databank upon reaching majority.

The databank is open to qualified participants presently located in any country in the world. Registration information and DNA sample collection kits will be mailed globally and accepted from participants regardless of their the country of residence. Since most sending countries in intercountry adoption place children out for adoption to families in more than one country, biological siblings may be located anywhere in the world. The databank presently includes a databank for the adopted children of each of the four largest sending countries: China, Russia, Korea and Guatemala.

Other countries: Since a sufficient number of participants must enter the database before it can reliably match blood relatives, we invite those from other countries of origin. A database will be opened upon reaching the threshold number of applicants for a reliable database. Therefore, it is important that you contact the Registry with your interest in a database for your country of origin.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO PARTICPATE?

There is a nonrefundable fee of $250 to be sent in with the Request for Application.  You will then be sent the full Registration package including the DNA test kit.  This fee includes lab testing, ongoing checking for matches now and in the future, a DNA Identity Profile Card (containing your child's specific DNA identifying information for you to keep), informational materials and staff support.  If a match is found, either immediately on entering the databank or at some time in the future, there may be additional fees for further testing if you choose to do so and possible additional support services.  All fees are nonrefundable and subject to change.  These services will aid you in understanding the lab results and its significance, assist you in explaining this information to your child and extended family members, and prepare you for contacting the other family when a match is found.

Since the larger the databank, the greater the chance of locating a match, the Registry is committed to assisting families of limited means to participate and encourages donations from participants to aid in the full participation of all adopted children. Please inquire at the Registry for further information if you are in need of assistance in order to participate. (Note:  Kinsearch has lowered it's normal fee of $400 to $250 at this point in order to help as many people as possible enter the database without a financial strain.)

WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE REGISTRY?

Adoptees and those from donated reproduction have a great range of attitudes and feelings about locating biological relatives. Depending on the country of an adoptee’s origin, there may be some information available about the reported birth family or there may be none. In either case, there is unlikely to be information available about other half or full siblings from the birth family who have been adopted out either before or after the participant.

Participants in the Registry have chosen to try to locate biological relatives and are interested in knowing about and potentially contacting those relatives. If matched, participants are free to determine for themselves the level of contact, if any, that they would like to have with any matched biological family members.

HOW PRIVATE AND SECURE IS A REGISTRANT’S DNA INFORMATION?

The Kinsearch Registry believes that the registrant’s privacy and the security of his or her personal information to be of the utmost importance. The Registry encodes each DNA sample that it receives before submitting it to the DNA lab for testing. The lab receives samples with no identifying information but only a code number. Test results are conveyed to the Registry by code number, and the Registry maintains the only identifying information securely in its database. The DNA lab will never have a way to identify the individual whose DNA it is testing, comparing and banking.

No one will have access to the DNA databank for any prupose other than comparison for matches. The genetic material itself, the DNA cheek swab sample, will be desptroyed upon determining the DNA identity profile. In addition, participants may remove their DNA profiles from the databank at any time by notifying the Registry.

Because security and privacy are extremely important ethical issues, particularly in the area of DNA and genetic testing and research, the Registry is careful to consider all appropriate ethical issues and is advised by a panel of bioethicists, foreign country experts, legal experts, adoption professionals and adoptees in designing, running and maintaining its program and databank.

WHAT IF MY BIOLOGICAL RELATIVES DO NOT WANT TO BE FOUND?

The Registry is entirely voluntary. Therefore, by participating in the Registry, an individual who submits DNA for testing agrees to be notified if potential biological family members are found. At the time of a match, each family is again asked to consent before contact information will be shared. A family is free to decline to be contacted at any time in the program. There is no promise that a match will be made and the lab does not guarantee the test results.