Written by Michelle Leonard
25th April is DNA Day!
DNA Day celebrates two momentous moments in DNA history:
1. The discovery of the double helix which was presented in the Journal "Nature" published on 25th April 1953
2. The completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003
This will be the 15th edition of DNA Day!
The most important thing to note about DNA Day now, though, is that each year we get some fantastic sales from most of the major DNA testing companies! If you have been thinking of testing yourself or other family members then DNA Day is one of the best times of the year to pick up additional DNA kits. It's a very short term sale so don't miss out. If you have older generation relatives who are willing to test and you haven't got around to doing it I will repeat my mantra to test your older generations as they have more of your ancestors' DNA than you do!
Here is a round-up of the sales on offer for DNA Day 2018 over the next few days with a UK focus but information on sales in other countries is given as well:
1. The discovery of the double helix which was presented in the Journal "Nature" published on 25th April 1953
2. The completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003
This will be the 15th edition of DNA Day!
The most important thing to note about DNA Day now, though, is that each year we get some fantastic sales from most of the major DNA testing companies! If you have been thinking of testing yourself or other family members then DNA Day is one of the best times of the year to pick up additional DNA kits. It's a very short term sale so don't miss out. If you have older generation relatives who are willing to test and you haven't got around to doing it I will repeat my mantra to test your older generations as they have more of your ancestors' DNA than you do!
Here is a round-up of the sales on offer for DNA Day 2018 over the next few days with a UK focus but information on sales in other countries is given as well:
AncestryDNA now have over 10 million testers in their database! This is by far the largest autosomal database in existence and DNA Day brings the best price of the year so far from Ancestry. Getting in the largest database is important for everyone interested in DNA testing for genealogy purposes but it is especially important if you have a mystery to solve (e.g. adoption, unknown parentage, illegitimate grandparent etc). You cannot transfer into Ancestry as you can some of the other companies so you have to test with them direct. The sheer size of the database (larger than the others put together) makes testing at Ancestry a top priority for mysteries as the larger the database the better the chance of close matches.
The price of the AncestryDNA test in the UK has been reduced by 25% from £79 to £59 for DNA Day 2018
(Please note that this does not include shipping which is £9.99 for the first kit and £4.99 for each additional kit in the same order - shipping has recently become 50% cheaper as well)
*Sale ends 26th April 23:59 GMT
Ancestry are also running DNA Day sales in Ireland, USA and Canada:
Ireland: Price reduced by 25% from €95 to €71
Shipping €20 for first kit and €10 per additional kit in same order
*Sale ends 26th April 23:59 GMT
USA: Price reduced by 40% from $99 to $59
Shipping $9.95 for first kit and $4.95 per additional kit in same order
*Sale ends 29th April
Canada: Price reduced by $40 CAD from $129 CAD to $89 CAD
Shipping $19.95 CAD for first kit and $10 CAD per additional kit in same order
*Sale ends 30th April
The price of the AncestryDNA test in the UK has been reduced by 25% from £79 to £59 for DNA Day 2018
(Please note that this does not include shipping which is £9.99 for the first kit and £4.99 for each additional kit in the same order - shipping has recently become 50% cheaper as well)
*Sale ends 26th April 23:59 GMT
Ancestry are also running DNA Day sales in Ireland, USA and Canada:
Ireland: Price reduced by 25% from €95 to €71
Shipping €20 for first kit and €10 per additional kit in same order
*Sale ends 26th April 23:59 GMT
USA: Price reduced by 40% from $99 to $59
Shipping $9.95 for first kit and $4.95 per additional kit in same order
*Sale ends 29th April
Canada: Price reduced by $40 CAD from $129 CAD to $89 CAD
Shipping $19.95 CAD for first kit and $10 CAD per additional kit in same order
*Sale ends 30th April
FTDNA
The FTDNA DNA Day sale runs for over a week this year - it began on 20th April and ends at 23:59 PT on 28th April
The FTDNA DNA Day sale runs for over a week this year - it began on 20th April and ends at 23:59 PT on 28th April
Here is a list of all the discounts on offer:
There are excellent deals on FTDNA's autosomal offering (Family Finder), their many Y-DNA tests and their MtFull Sequence test as well as several bundle deals. FTDNA are the only company with Y-DNA and MtDNA matching databases so if you are interested in Y-DNA and MtDNA testing they are the company to test with. They have also been around the longest of all of the testing companies. If you are looking for the cheapest autosomal test on offer in the sale then Family Finder at $49 (£35) takes that prize.
FTDNA sells worldwide, all prices are in US dollars and shipping is not included (shipping costs $12.95 (£9.25) per kit but return postage is only included for US kits).
There is also a substantial discount for upgrades to the Big Y test which has recently become Big Y-500 - this refers to an upgrade that FTDNA has just applied that gives testers additional Y-STR marker results.
Additionally if you have tested at Ancestry or 23andMe (V3 and V4 only) you can transfer into FTDNA's Family Finder database and get all of your matches for free - if you wish to unlock access to all of FTDNA's tools and features it costs a modest $19 per kit and I would recommend this for the chromosome browser alone. HERE is a link to the autosomal DNA Transfer page. Please be aware if you tested at Ancestry after May 2016 you will only get access to your highest confidence matches at FTDNA due to the fact Ancestry began using a different chip at that time. If you wish to gain access to all of your lower confidence matches it is better to do an FTDNA Family Finder test directly and you won't see a better price than $49 for this. Again if you have a mystery to solve trying to get into as many databases as possible could be crucial - you don't know which pond your big fish may choose to test in so it's best to get yourself into all the ponds!
FTDNA sells worldwide, all prices are in US dollars and shipping is not included (shipping costs $12.95 (£9.25) per kit but return postage is only included for US kits).
There is also a substantial discount for upgrades to the Big Y test which has recently become Big Y-500 - this refers to an upgrade that FTDNA has just applied that gives testers additional Y-STR marker results.
Additionally if you have tested at Ancestry or 23andMe (V3 and V4 only) you can transfer into FTDNA's Family Finder database and get all of your matches for free - if you wish to unlock access to all of FTDNA's tools and features it costs a modest $19 per kit and I would recommend this for the chromosome browser alone. HERE is a link to the autosomal DNA Transfer page. Please be aware if you tested at Ancestry after May 2016 you will only get access to your highest confidence matches at FTDNA due to the fact Ancestry began using a different chip at that time. If you wish to gain access to all of your lower confidence matches it is better to do an FTDNA Family Finder test directly and you won't see a better price than $49 for this. Again if you have a mystery to solve trying to get into as many databases as possible could be crucial - you don't know which pond your big fish may choose to test in so it's best to get yourself into all the ponds!
MyHeritage are also having a sale for DNA Day - they have reduced the price of their autosomal DNA kit from £75 to £59 in the UK (shipping costs £11.95 per kit with shipping discounts for each additional kit added to the same order e.g. £2 off for 2 kits, £3 off for 3 kits etc). The sale price in the US is $69 plus shipping and it ends 25th April.
It is also still possible to transfer into MyHeritage for free from any of the other major companies - HERE is a link to upload your results to their site. I would encourage anyone who has not yet taken advantage of transferring to do so as MyHeritage have been extremely impressive of late in the way they are improving their platform and their database is growing all the time. The problems with their matching algorithm were solved as promised a few months ago and I am now regularly discovering new matches that are unique to the MyHeritage database. The recent additions of a basic chromosome browser as well as a one-to-many chromosome browser with triangulation capability are extremely helpful and I'm looking forward to future developments on this platform.
It is also still possible to transfer into MyHeritage for free from any of the other major companies - HERE is a link to upload your results to their site. I would encourage anyone who has not yet taken advantage of transferring to do so as MyHeritage have been extremely impressive of late in the way they are improving their platform and their database is growing all the time. The problems with their matching algorithm were solved as promised a few months ago and I am now regularly discovering new matches that are unique to the MyHeritage database. The recent additions of a basic chromosome browser as well as a one-to-many chromosome browser with triangulation capability are extremely helpful and I'm looking forward to future developments on this platform.
UPDATED: 23andMe in the UK have now joined the other companies by having a DNA Day sale - it is a one day only sale with 30% off tests beginning and ending on DNA Day itself 25th April.
23andMe now offer both their original Health + Ancestry test which includes autsomal matching, Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information and certain health reports as well as a cheaper Ancestry Only test which omits the health reports. The sale prices for DNA Day are:
UK
Health + Ancestry: £104 (plus £9.99 shipping)
Ancestry Only: £55 (plus £9.99 shipping)
There are also DNA Day sales taking place in the US and Canada with 30% off both types of test too:
USA
Health + Ancestry: $139 plus shipping
Ancestry Only: $69 plus shipping
Canada
Health + Ancestry: C$174 plus shipping
Ancestry Only: C$90 plus shipping
23andMe have the second largest database out of all the major companies with over 5 million testers now so testing here cannot be overlooked especially if you have a mystery to solve. Many people do test for the health results but the addition of the Ancestry only test last year was very welcome and there are now more people testing solely for genealogy purposes.
FURTHER UPDATE: 23andMe are allowing people who have tested at AncestryDNA to upload their raw data to their site for 24 hours only and in return they will receive 4 free reports:
23andMe now offer both their original Health + Ancestry test which includes autsomal matching, Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information and certain health reports as well as a cheaper Ancestry Only test which omits the health reports. The sale prices for DNA Day are:
UK
Health + Ancestry: £104 (plus £9.99 shipping)
Ancestry Only: £55 (plus £9.99 shipping)
There are also DNA Day sales taking place in the US and Canada with 30% off both types of test too:
USA
Health + Ancestry: $139 plus shipping
Ancestry Only: $69 plus shipping
Canada
Health + Ancestry: C$174 plus shipping
Ancestry Only: C$90 plus shipping
23andMe have the second largest database out of all the major companies with over 5 million testers now so testing here cannot be overlooked especially if you have a mystery to solve. Many people do test for the health results but the addition of the Ancestry only test last year was very welcome and there are now more people testing solely for genealogy purposes.
FURTHER UPDATE: 23andMe are allowing people who have tested at AncestryDNA to upload their raw data to their site for 24 hours only and in return they will receive 4 free reports:
The four free reports are as follows:
Please be aware that "DNA Family" is not 23andMe's DNA matching facility - this is known as DNA Relatives. DNA Family will just give you an overview of the number of people who match you and at what relationship levels they match you. It will also give you a broad look at their locations and ancestry composition as well as some quirky comparisons between them and the average 23andMe user e.g. percentage for who's more likely to feel jittery after drinking caffeine or more likely to be able to wiggle their ears! It will not tell you who they are or give you means to contact them but if you have a mystery, for instance, and you're not yet in the 23andMe database it will tell you if you have any close relatives there and you can then make an informed decision as to whether it is worth buying a kit to see who those people are. Even if you are just curious to see if any close cousins have tested at 23andMe this will give you a good indication of that. If you do wish to see your DNA Relatives list, though, you will need to purchase a 23andMe kit.
This is what the top of my DNA Family page looks like to give you an idea:
This is what the top of my DNA Family page looks like to give you an idea:
As you can see if tells me that I have four people in the close family to second cousin range - if you were to get a result like that then it could be very worthwhile getting a kit in the sale to see who those people are.
This is a new departure for 23andMe as they have never accepted uploads before and it will be interesting to see if it leads to anything further. Perhaps they will allow unlocking of matching for a fee or perhaps you will always need to buy a kit to get access to your match list. We will have to wait and see. I am unclear at this point if this 24 hour upload deal is for US Customers only but it seems that may be the case as UK and International customers are reporting an inability to upload. Also you have to create new accounts to use it and cannot upload new people to your existing 23andMe accounts. 23andMe have now released an information sheet HERE and If you would like to upload use this link HERE.
This is a new departure for 23andMe as they have never accepted uploads before and it will be interesting to see if it leads to anything further. Perhaps they will allow unlocking of matching for a fee or perhaps you will always need to buy a kit to get access to your match list. We will have to wait and see. I am unclear at this point if this 24 hour upload deal is for US Customers only but it seems that may be the case as UK and International customers are reporting an inability to upload. Also you have to create new accounts to use it and cannot upload new people to your existing 23andMe accounts. 23andMe have now released an information sheet HERE and If you would like to upload use this link HERE.
Living DNA are also having a DNA Day sale as follows:
UK: Price reduced by £40.80 from £120 to £79.20 plus delivery
UK Standard Delivery (5-7 working days): £9.95
UK Premium Delivery (2-3 working days): £14.95
EU: Price reduced by €55.80 from €159 to €103.20 plus delivery
EU Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): €12.95
EU Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): €24.95
US: Price reduced by $79.01 from $159 to $79.99 plus delivery
USA Standard Delivery (5-7 working days): $9.95
USA Premium Delivery (2-3 working days): $39.95
Canada: Price reduced by C$63.80 from C$199 to C$135.20 plus delivery
Canada Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): C$14.95
Canada Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): C$49.95
Australia: Price reduced by A$63.80 from A$199 to A$135.20 plus delivery
Australia Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): A$14.95
Australia Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): A $69.95
New Zealand: Price reduced by NZ$63.80 from NZ$199 to NZ$135.20 plus delivery
New Zealand Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): NZ $14.95
New Zealand Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): NZ $69.95
The Living DNA test gives a detailed regional breakdown of UK Ancestry and also includes Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information. Please note that Living DNA currently do not offer a matching database but one is in beta testing and will be launched in the autumn of this year. It is also now possible, via the One Family One World Project, to upload results from other major testing companies to LivingDNA and you will be able to take advantage of the new matching database if you do that but you will not receive the detailed regional breakdown or Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup designations.
UK: Price reduced by £40.80 from £120 to £79.20 plus delivery
UK Standard Delivery (5-7 working days): £9.95
UK Premium Delivery (2-3 working days): £14.95
EU: Price reduced by €55.80 from €159 to €103.20 plus delivery
EU Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): €12.95
EU Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): €24.95
US: Price reduced by $79.01 from $159 to $79.99 plus delivery
USA Standard Delivery (5-7 working days): $9.95
USA Premium Delivery (2-3 working days): $39.95
Canada: Price reduced by C$63.80 from C$199 to C$135.20 plus delivery
Canada Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): C$14.95
Canada Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): C$49.95
Australia: Price reduced by A$63.80 from A$199 to A$135.20 plus delivery
Australia Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): A$14.95
Australia Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): A $69.95
New Zealand: Price reduced by NZ$63.80 from NZ$199 to NZ$135.20 plus delivery
New Zealand Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): NZ $14.95
New Zealand Premium Delivery (5-7 working days): NZ $69.95
The Living DNA test gives a detailed regional breakdown of UK Ancestry and also includes Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information. Please note that Living DNA currently do not offer a matching database but one is in beta testing and will be launched in the autumn of this year. It is also now possible, via the One Family One World Project, to upload results from other major testing companies to LivingDNA and you will be able to take advantage of the new matching database if you do that but you will not receive the detailed regional breakdown or Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup designations.
If you would like to take advantage of any of these sales I would urge you to do so via the affiliate links on the DNA Detectives Kits of Kindness Program webpage as that way you will not only be helping yourself to a discount but you will also be contributing to the which will help others too. This is a program that donates DNA kits to those who are seeking biological family members but cannot afford the cost of testing. Each kit sold via one of these links contributes a small amount to the Kits of Kindness Program - over 400 people have received donated kits since the instigation of the program in January 2016 and many of them have been reunited with previously unknown biological relatives.
Michelle Leonard is Ancestry Hour's resident DNA #genesgenius! You can catch her on Twitter as @GenealogyLass and you can follow her business page Genes & Genealogy on Facebook. If you're not sure which test to go for in the sale or you just wish to chat about DNA testing for genealogy, Michelle is usually on hand to answer #DNA queries during #AncestryHour each Tuesday evening 7-8pm GMT.
Happy DNA Day!
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