Big news for adoptees born in Virginia! 

Yesterday, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill 301 into law, granting adoptees access to their original birth certificates (OBCs). This makes Virginia the latest in a string of states granting open access to OBCs. 

Why does this matter? Because it opens another path to discovering your biological family and origins. Two paths—the DNA-first route and the records-first route—help adoptees begin a search for biological relatives. Here’s how to get started…

Adopted and interested in starting a search? We’ve gathered more detailed information for you here and identified places to go for more. Two paths—the DNA-first route and the records-first route—are the main paths adoptees use today to begin a search for biological relatives.

The Genomic Services Research Program (GSRP). A study for patients with unexpected genetic results.

Watershed DNA has expanded into a full-spectrum source of information and support for people with unexpected DNA results.

If you’re a podcast listener, you might enjoy the latest interview of Watershed DNA founder Brianne as she chats with the host of Patient Stories, Eleanor Griffith, about resources. Episode 63 is a follow up to a conversation that first took place on Patient Stories two years ago.

Sometimes I fear the media attention of direct-to-consumer test in recent years comes at the expense of the most vulnerable in society: children and adults living with rare disease.

Sesquizygotic twins have been reported in the literature before, but this is reportedly the first case of it being detected during a pregnancy.

The first report of gene-edited babies has come out, reported by a researcher in China who was trained and degreed at a university in the United States.

We don't know and understand all the factors that cause Alzheimer's yet, so while genetic testing can be helpful, it oftentimes won't be able to tell the whole story.

Jamie is a board certified and licensed genetic counselor. She provides genetic counseling to people and families with or at risk for inherited neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, prion disease, Huntington’s disease, amytrophic lateral sclerosis, and ataxia.