# If everyone's DNA was on file could adoptees use it to find their bio-parents? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyones-dna-was-on-file-could-adoptees-use-it-to-find-their-bio-parents/212036 "2003-11-08T04:13:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyones-dna-was-on-file-could-adoptees-use-it-to-find-their-bio-parents/212036/1 "2003-11-08T04:13:16Z")
Could DNA be used this way to help adopted kids find their parents? ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyones-dna-was-on-file-could-adoptees-use-it-to-find-their-bio-parents/212036/2 "2003-11-08T04:17:57Z")
Assuming the DNA file contained info relating to the person’s current location; of course you would have millions of different files to compare against; even if the system was computerized, it would still take quite a bit of processing power to do a complete match. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyones-dna-was-on-file-could-adoptees-use-it-to-find-their-bio-parents/212036/3 "2003-11-08T04:44:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DreadCthulhu \* > \*\*Assuming the DNA file contained info relating to the person’s current location; of course you would have millions of different files to compare against; even if the system was computerized, it would still take quite a bit of processing power to do a complete match. \*\* I realize I should have been more clear in framing the question. Given current technology, is there enough relevant information in a type of DNA record typically kept on file, to allow searching, cross matching and matching of children to parents given a searchable database of hundreds of millions of individual genome indexes. In other words, is DNA “searchable” in the context of matching one child’s DNA to a specific parent’s DNA out of millions of possible matches? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyones-dna-was-on-file-could-adoptees-use-it-to-find-their-bio-parents/212036/4 "2003-11-09T14:05:49Z")
\ If you’ve ever touched a penny the government has your DNA on file. Why do you think they keep them in circulation \ ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyones-dna-was-on-file-could-adoptees-use-it-to-find-their-bio-parents/212036/5 "2003-11-10T15:01:39Z")
The size of the computational problem simply overwhelms our best technology right now. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-everyones-dna-was-on-file-could-adoptees-use-it-to-find-their-bio-parents/212036/6 "2003-11-10T15:45:41Z")
Yes. I don’t think the computational work would be overwhelming, depending on how the database is constructed. At any rate, by the time you have collected the samples, the computational power available would have caught up to any problems. Figure 6 years to collect millions of sample. With computer power doubling every 18 months, that is a 16 fold increase in computer power.