SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR DNA TESTED?

SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR DNA TESTED?

My favourite Christmas gift this year was the Ancestry DNA testing gift that Darlene gave me. Sending in a sample of my saliva to the company will apparently allow them to determine my ancestral heritage in general terms. I think this practice ranks in the same category as fortune telling, palm reading, and teacup reading, but I thought it would be interesting to participate. A recent news story has now enthralled me even more, as I found out that my DNA results might be able to save me money and possibly even make me money!

In Mexico, the country's national carrier, AeroMexico, unveiled a program called "DNA Discounts," which offers discounts on flights to Americans who can show by taking a test that they have Mexican DNA. The amount of the discount depends on the percentage of Mexican ancestry. For example, a person who has 15% Mexican heritage qualifies for 15% off. The promotion is specifically targeted at states in the Western United States, including Arizona and Utah.

While this particular program stipulates Americans, I think it would be worth pursuing the concept with other airlines such as Westjet, Air Canada, and Czech Air. No airline is going to want to be left behind when a new marketing program has been introduced by a competitor. I am willing to accept any kind of airline discount that I can qualify for. 

There are other spin off benefits to getting my DNA tested besides cheaper airline tickets. While I know that I have no Mexican blood flowing through my veins, it would be a definite advantage to learn that there might be some First Nations red and white corpuscles pulsing through my body. I am already having visions of possibly receiving some treaty money or other compensation earmarked for indigenous individuals. Should I find that I qualify, I will probably be a little more supportive of the demonstrations of “my people” to prevent pipelines being built on “our lands.”

While I already have one famous relative dangling on my family tree, there are probably more. The author, Joseph Conrad, who wrote such classics as Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, and Typhoon, is a distant blood relative whose mother was a Bobrovsky, and lived in the same region in Slovakia where my Father was born. And as I think of it, perhaps I may be in line to receive some of the royalties on his many works, which could have grown to quite a family fortune by now. If my blogs suddenly cease, you might attribute it to this windfall.

A friend has cautioned against me or anyone from having a DNA sample taken as it would forever be on record. I have no intention of committing any illegal act that my DNA could be used to implicate me, so I am not really worried. I am actually a little more concerned for my friend, who does not wish to be the victim of a DNA match! What is he/she afraid of? Although all of the human rights activists would be enraged, I think that every newborn should have a sample of saliva taken to provide a DNA fingerprint on file. I think it would have a major impact on reducing future crime if everyone knew that they could be identified if their DNA record was accessible. What do you think?

I will be happy to share my results after I receive them! Who knows, I might be even more famous than I already am!