Getting Started

While it is illegal to abandon a child, China’s statute of limitations for prosecution is interpreted to be 5 years from the abandonment date. We are not aware of any documented cases that involve legal consequences for a birth family who searched for or reunited with a lost child.

However, some families are afraid to “lose face” in their communities. Admitting to child abandonment could result in shame for not just the parents, but also the whole family. This causes some birth families to not proceed with a search for their lost child, or to be more cautious and private. Furthermore, some families will not come forward out of guilt to the child they did not raise. In Chinese society, many domestic adoptees hold strong and negative feelings towards their birth parents.

DNA is a must for confirming any biological relationships and there have been quite a few surprise matches for some Chinese adoptees who have done various DNA tests. First, we recommend you take a23andMe DNA test (this database has the most Chinese adoptees) and then upload the raw data file to all other databases you can—priority #1 being GEDmatch, which has over 1200 birth families in there. If you can afford it, order anAncestryDNA test since there have been some sibling matches through their database. For more information about DNA testing, read here.

There are many other steps you can take to conduct a birth family search, such as creating a search poster, connecting with others, and hiring a professional searcher. Please refer to our Searching Guide for further details.

This is a recommended first step because some adoptees have found “hidden” information (i.e. finder’s name) in the Chinese copies. If you do not read Chinese, what you can do is this: use the Google Translate mobile app to take pictures of the original documents and translate on there. Google Translate is pretty accurate. If anything seems off to you or confusing when comparing the software translation to your original paper copies of the translated version, then we suggest asking a native speaker for clarification.

Not at all! This is a common misconception. Many of our tested birth families have told us they or someone else brought their relinquished child directly to welfare homes (orphanages). We have made several matches where the finding spot being a welfare home was accurate. Unless you have convincing information that would indicate otherwise, we suggest targeting your initial search efforts in the county/district you were found and possibly the surrounding areas. Of course, nobody will know for certain where you were truly “found” unless you locate your birth family.

You can take some steps to conceal your identity, but a birth family search will require you to put your information out into the world at some degree. Search flyers typically contain information that could be identifiable to people who knew you in China—info such as your Chinese name, area “found,” area adopted from, approximate birthdate, etc, along with various photos. The same can be said if you participate in any videos, interviews, or social media posts.

As it pertains to DNA testing, we understand some people have concerns about their identities being linked to their DNA. You can register your accounts with an anonymized email address made specifically for search-related activities or for doing DNA tests. You can also use a full alias, initials, or a nickname when adding a name to your DNA accounts. Some adoptees use their Chinese name from before they were adopted. If date of birth is asked, you can use a fake one. Some people prefer to keep their full names in their profiles so that their matches can connect with them outside of the database on social media platforms.

It is up to you to do what you most feel comfortable with. Either way, a DNA test is a must to confirm biological relationships.