> > --------------- > To the List Members... > > Can anyone please explain to a bewildered person (me) in simple terms how > it is possible through DNA testing to find the birth mother of an > individual when virtually nothing is known about the mother, including her > nationality or country where she resides. > DNA testing is used by matching the DNA of two people .. the closer the relationship the closer the DNA bands match. Identical twins will have an identical pattern. Children & Parents have similar patterns - with differnt sections matching one parent or the others pattern. That is how it is used to confirm maternity/paternity. So if a stranger walked in and said she was your mother - DNA testing could be used to confirm/refute that to within 99+% confidence levels if you both donated blood to test. Having only one person's blood - the only way to "find" a match is if by chance the other person also had DNA work done and it was stored in a database somewhere (like FBI fingerprint databases can be searched). I don't know if any do - but iff an adoption registry stored DNA tests and the birth mother had her results stored there ... then the adoptee's could be searched ? But i've never heard of this being done... But since - like fingerprints - most of us don't have our DNA patterns in a database anywhere ... its highly unlikely to "find" another person. Hope this anwers your question a little ... donna ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Donna Bassolino-Klimas, Ph.D. Bristol Myers Squibb Pharma. Res. Inst. Department of Macromolecular Structure P.O. Box 4000 Room H3812 Princeton, N.J. 08543 4000 ** New phone # at Hopewell Facility (609) 818 - 4413 INTERNET: [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------