MyHeritage Offers Free DNA Tests to Help Reunite Separated Migrant Children with their Parents

MyHeritage Offers Free DNA Tests to Help Reunite Separated Migrant Children with their Parents

We have just announced that, following the recent separation of immigrant parents and children in the United States, MyHeritage is expanding its pro bono initiative, DNA Quest — which helps reunite adoptees with their biological families through DNA testing — to help those parents who were detained at the US border reunite with their children. We are pledging 5,000 additional free DNA tests for separated parents and children who are interested in this opportunity.

For the DNA kits to reach the affected people, MyHeritage has begun contacting relevant government agencies and NGOs that are able to provide assistance with distribution of the DNA kits — to parents in detainment facilities and to their children placed in temporary custody. MyHeritage is also calling the public to assist — anyone who can help with the distribution of the DNA kits and is in touch with the separated families is requested to contact dnaquestsupport@myheritage.com. The DNA results will be processed by MyHeritage and not shared with any third parties.

In recent months, the detention of migrant families involved divergent paths for parents and children, making it hard and sometimes impossible for each to track the other through the separate systems. Parents who crossed the border into the United States illegally have been placed in Department of Homeland Security detention, while their children were sent into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The children were subsequently placed in government facilities or foster care, resulting in separation from parents, who are often unable to locate or communicate with their children. In recent months, the ORR has not always been able to identify children on behalf of the parents searching for them and children are not always notified of their parents being deported, lessening the chances of the parents and children ever being reunited. DNA testing can accurately match between parents and their children, enabling parents to locate their children and reunite with them once the parents are released from custody or deported.

“In light of the humanitarian tragedy that has taken place, in which children have been separated from their parents, we have decided to rise to the challenge and take the lead in helping these families,” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “By expanding our DNA Quest pro bono project to include families separated by the current U.S. border crisis, we hope to use the power of DNA testing yet again to do good, and to reunite parents and children who might otherwise never see one another again.”

In the first phase of its DNA Quest initiative to reunite adoptees with their biological families, MyHeritage pledged 15,000 free DNA kits to eligible participants. Following the close of applications on May 31, 2018, MyHeritage completed sending the DNA kits by June 6. Participants are in the process of receiving their kits, taking the tests and sending their samples to the MyHeritage DNA lab for analysis.

Comments

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  • Rebecca E Andrews

    June 22, 2018

    This is such a wonderful thing you are doing. Both the quest project to unite adoopted children.
    Especially wonderful is your beautiful DNA search with immigrant families to reconnect. This whole separation that happened was so scary to me, the cages and children being herded through them gave me chills, and thoughts of the death camps. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
    I am proud to call you guys MY genealogy poeple. I Thank you from my very soul, Rebecca Ellen Andrews

  • michael stamps

    October 17, 2018

    Ihave 2kids a boy in a girl in ijuat need a dna test done to make sure they are mine

  • Velvet Goeke

    October 25, 2018

    I just saw the Good Morning America segment. This is all I know; I was in a. basket and left at the front door of Holt agency in Seoul Korea. I came with a note with my date of birth. It was a closed adoption. I was adopted at 6 months and brought to the US in 1967. Please help me find any kind of information.

  • Aiyee

    November 9, 2018

    I think this is a great act of kindness that your organization is doing to help adoptees reunite with their birth families and have the opportunity to learn about their heritage through their family history.

    The Pro Bono Initiative is an inspirational project that excites me about the work you are doing to bring families back together in which they can maybe finally gain a sense of true belonging and let go of any emotions of feeling empty and lost that they may be experiencing.

    I wish you great success in reaching your goals of the vision you created for this initiative. It would be great to receive updates periodically through your blog about your success stories.