As some of you may have seen in a previous blog, I recently devised a method to obtain a saliva sample for DNA testing without using actual saliva. (For full instructions, see my blog post: How to do an AncestryDNA test WITHOUT spit) This method has been questioned by many in genetic genealogy circles, however, I have yet to be made aware of it failing. This method has been successfully used with AncestryDNA as well as 23andme.
I originally developed this method in December 2016 after my 3-year-old daughter refused to spit in the vial without immediately drinking it after. While begging and pleading with someone who can barely count, I started brainstorming how I could possibly get DNA without spit for this test. I knew this was a frequently encountered problem in some of my DNA circles, especially among the elderly. I thought that perhaps my three-year-old could be an important part of figuring out how to obtain a sample. Maybe this experiment could help other people obtain valuable data that they may not have been able to obtain otherwise. I decided to jump in feet first, using knowledge I already had, and some I deliberately sought after. I was on pins and needles and kept the whole thing a secret until I knew if it worked.
Sure enough, her results came back perfect. At that point, I decided to do another test to demonstrate my method for others to replicate. Jacob was my (super adorable) test subject and volunteer. Sure enough, just like his cousin’s results, his results came in perfect and exactly as we expected them to.
Additionally, a woman commented on my previous blog that she tried my method with a 23andme kit (and her own mouth) and the results came back correctly, showing her second kit as an identical twin to her first kit!