Commentary
Recently, the American family of a Chinese adoptee contacted me because of a suspicious interaction they had with a DNA research service. The adoptee—called Janet for anonymity—submitted her DNA to an ancestry website to uncover her history. The results, unsurprisingly, confirmed more than 90 percent Chinese DNA. However, what proved unusual was that shortly afterward, she received an email from a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) claiming to have located her birth mother. The email came from research-china.org, a paid service, and its affiliate DNAconnect.org, which in addition to charging $299, solicits donations.
