Standards for Genetic Genealogy

(I know I should have posted this two weeks ago, but other commitments have taken precedence over this blog recently.)

A group of genetic genealogists have been working for several months now to create a draft of Genetic Genealogy Standards. Informal discussions started much earlier, but the time seems right for formal standards to be developed as more researchers begin using DNA for genealogy. These standards do not teach how to analyze DNA data. The standards cover privacy and ethical situations we should all consider as we take a DNA test, ask relatives to take a DNA test, and as we share those test results privately and publicly.

Formal discussions were led by The Genetic Genealogist blogger Blaine Bettinger. More importantly for this effort, he also holds a PhD in Biochemistry and a JD. Others in the group are from several countries, some are medical doctors, some are biologists and geneticists, some are project administrators, most are genealogists—professional, forensic, genetic, and family, or all of these—or have an interest in genealogy. A selected group of genealogists and genetic genealogists outside of the original discussion group were asked for comments prior to making the document available to the public.

Blaine created a website to allow the document to be available for public comment at Genetic Genealogy Standards.

Please take the time to download and review the document then use the website to provide official feedback. The feedback period ends June 15th. The more reviewers we have, the better the final document will be.

Blaine blogged about this on 12 May 2014 at Announcing the Creation of Genetic Genealogy Standards.

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "Standards for Genetic Genealogy," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 29 May 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved