Tuesday 15 October 2019

AncestryDNA launches AncestryHealth test & services

Ancestry DNA has launched two new services under the brand of AncestryHealth. The name will tell you that this latest development involves dna testing for health rather than just for ethnic history and genetic matching.

The two new services are AncestryHealth Core™, 'a one-time, array-based service', and AncestryHealth Plus™, 'a membership service using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology'.

The company's press release (here) is a long read, so I'd suggest that interested researchers take a first look at the new Health pages of Ancestry (click image below) where information about the two services is provided in a rather less dense fashion.

As I mentioned when MyHeritage launched its genetic health testing kit a few months back, I'm not entirely comfortable about dna testing for potential health risks, and such tests have little to do with traditional family history research, anyway. So I'm not going to say any more here than I did then ie I'm purely announcing (not recommending) this range extension from one of the world's largest genealogical suppliers.

Most existing AncestryDNA customers will not be required to submit a new sample* if they want to have the AncestryHealth test.

Existing DNA customers can have their existing sample tested by upgrading to AncestryHealth Core for just US$49 or to AncestryHealth Plus for US$98 (for six months membership).

The tests offered by AncestryHealth are not currently available in New York, New Jersey or Rhode Island. It seems likely they are not currently available outside the United States, either, as there has been no launch of these products via the Ancestry UK, CA or .com.AU sites. If I can track down confirmation, one way or the other, I'll update this blogpost accordingly.

*If you are an existing DNA customer and Ancestry's lab finds you DO need to submit a new sample, a new kit will be provided free of charge.


NOTE: Just fifteen months from announcing the Health testing kit mentioned above, Ancestry quietly discontinued the product on 15 January 2021.