DNA Kit Helps Michigan Woman Connect With Biological Sister
When Melanie McCormick was gifted a 23 and Me test by her adopted parents to learn more about her Korean heritage, she found the sister she didn't even know she had.
According to WILX, McCormick was adopted as a newborn in 1992 while the woman she would end up finding out was her sister, Madie Gustafson, was adopted in the 1980's.
McCormick took the DNA test in 2018 and a year later, Gustafson took the same test.
Gustafson's thought her only family would still be in South Korea only for her to get the surprise of a lifetime when McCormick connected with her through 23 and Me and told her they share the same mother.
In what seems just like "fate" these two sisters were meant to find each other and they have the fact they both used the same brand of test to thank!
“I’m just so glad I ended up taking that test and taking the same 23 and Me as you [Gastafson] because there is so much other genetic testing that you can do," McCormick said. "I just feel so grateful that we chose the same one and we were able to connect and connect at this point in our lives."
As someone who has two younger sisters, I can attest to the just how special of a bond it is to share, though we always, collectively, wondered what it would be like to have brothers.
Both of these women, whose adopted families gave them brothers, always wanted a sister. Gustafson even went as far when she was a child, to tell her adoptive mother, "we could just go to the airport and get another one."
Though COVID-19 has made it so these two long-lost sisters have not met in person yet, they still keep in contact with the "official" communication tool of 2020, Zoom.
There is still just something so beautiful about how two women who thought their only biological family was across the world were able to find each other even in the midst of a year that has been an absolute mess.
Here's some information on how DNA kits like 23 and Me work:
While these sisters came from across the world and found each other amidst a pandemic, here is a way to tour the world from the comforts of your home!