DNA Tests Unite Lost Grandchildren with Families
Friday, November 2nd, 2007At the age of 31, Marcos Suarez celebrated birthday this year with a cake decorated with a single candle. This candle signified this inaugural celebration with his birth family, with whom he’d been separated for the past 30 years.
Suarez is one of hundreds of Argentines who are discovering their biological roots in one of the most tumultuous times in Argentina’s history. He is one of the “Lost Grandchildren,” a man who as an infant was separated from his parents by the government because of his parents’ involvement in a student faction during the 1970s.
Suarez used DNA testing to identify and locate his biological family through the Abuelas campaign and the National Commission on the Right to Identity. He submitted his DNA samples for DNA profiling and potential matching with family DNA profiles.
DNA testing is based on DNA profiles, like those collected in Suarez’s case. These DNA samples are simple to collect through cheek (buccal) swabs. Analysis that compares the DNA samples will determine the probability that two or more people are biologically related.
You can learn more about DNA profiling and the technology behind it on the DNA Testing Services pages.