A few years ago, Angela Evans decided she wanted to test the DNA of her 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. She was interested in knowing whether they had a mutation of the MTHFR gene, as she does. The mutation is linked to a number of disorders — women with the mutation may have a higher risk of having babies with defects like spina bifida — and Ms. Evans wanted to make life changes for her children based on the results.
When doctors told her they didn't think there was a medical need to test her children, she decided to use 23andMe, the direct-to-customer genetic testing company.
To use 23andMe's services, the user simply sends in a saliva sample. Within five weeks the company returns the results, without the mediation of a doctor or genetic counselor.
Along with finding out that both her children had a mutation of the MTHFR gene, she also received 23andMe's analysis of her children's genetic susceptibility to a number of adult-onset diseases, including Parkinson's. Ms. Evans shared the results with her children, family members and friends.
Then she uploaded their DNA data to MyHeritage and GEDmatch hoping to learn more about the family's genealogy. Sites like GEDmatch and others are "open-source databases" on which people freely share their DNA online, usually in the hopes of finding long-lost relatives.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/dna-test-privacy-children.html?
