By: Katy-Rowe-Schurwanz
If you’ve been saving DNA kits for future family reunions or mystery cousins, here’s everything you need to know before finally sending one in.
If you are an enthusiastic genetic genealogist like me, you might have a bunch of unused DNA collection kits lying around your house. You never know when you’ll run into that cousin you’d love to test, or when there’s going to be an impromptu family reunion, so you may keep a few kits on hand.
Or maybe you need to send in a sample, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Is there a point where a kit has been sitting around too long?
Is it going to expire before you find your long-lost 4th cousin whose DNA results will break your brick wall?
There is nothing in the DNA collection kit itself that will expire or go bad. The materials (swabs, vials, buffer) need to last at least as long as the DNA inside the tubes – FamilyTreeDNA has stored unused samples, or swabs with DNA, at room temperature for over 25 years now.
It’s likely that the unused kit that’s been sitting on the shelf in the living room or on the kitchen table is most likely still viable!
How should I store an unused FamilyTreeDNA kit?
When you return your samples, one vial is sent to the lab for testing and the other to room-temperature storage, so it’s best to store your extra kits at room temperature. Our lab director recommends avoiding storing unused kits in extreme temperatures.
Placing it in the mailbox for return in the peak of summer (we are located in Texas, after all– it’s going to be hot here) or in the middle of winter is likely fine (it doesn’t usually get that cold here, but we haven’t noticed any problems), but avoid storing your extra kits in the garage, oven, furnace, deep freezer, etc.
What should be included in my FamilyTreeDNA kit?
Things have changed over the years, so make sure you have a complete set of materials in your extra collection kits.
Each DNA collection kit should include:
- Two swabs and two vials
- Swabbing instructions
- a DNA Processing Consent Form
- an Order Information Form
- a Plastic bag
- a Return envelope
What should the swabs and vials look like?
Some countries receive a dry swab kit and will not have the vials with the liquid lysis buffer. Whether you have our dry swab kit or our regular kit, you should have two swabs.
FamilyTreeDNA has used three different colors of caps for these vials. If your vials have an attached clear cap or an unattached red cap, our lab recommends we send you a complimentary replacement with orange caps, so please contact us.
Our lab switched to the orange caps in April 2018, so if your kits were ordered after that, you’ll have the orange caps. If they were ordered before the switch, you will either have the red or clear caps.
The vials with orange caps can go through our automated lab processes, whereas the older vials require manual processing, which increases the processing time for your results.
If either of the swabs or vials is damaged or the liquid lysis buffer is missing (and you don’t have a dry swab kit), please contact us for a complimentary replacement.
What should the swabbing instructions look like?
Your FamilyTreeDNA kit should contain an orange booklet with swabbing instructions on how to swab the most effectively.
If your kit contains swabbing instructions on a white sheet of paper rather than in an orange booklet, please use our updated swabbing instructions from our Help Center.
We also recommend checking out our tips for collecting the best sample.
What should the DNA Processing Consent Form look like?
The DNA Processing Consent Form is typically green. However, the form in your kit may be printed in a different color. This form is needed to begin processing your sample in the lab.
What if my kit does not have the DNA Processing Consent Form?
If your kit is missing the DNA Processing Consent Form, this will cause delays. This form is required to begin processing your sample. If we receive the kit without your consent form, we will reach out to the tester, using the information provided, and begin the process of obtaining the DNA Processing Consent Form.
You can find a printable version of this form in our Help Center. We recommend that you print a copy and stick it in each kit that does not currently have one.
What is the Matching Consent Form in my kit?
Kits from before May 2017 will include an old version of our Matching Consent, but they won’t have a DNA Processing Consent form.
This form was also green– so make sure to read the top of the form!
If you have a Matching Consent form in your kit, the form can be discarded. The Matching Consent Form is now collected as part of New Customer Onboarding when the tester first signs in to their account. The Matching Consent policy has also changed since we stopped placing those forms in the kits, and the tester will need to re-consent during Onboarding, even if you mail this old form back.
To clarify: The DNA Processing Consent Form is required for processing your sample. The Matching Consent Form is not.
What should the Order Information Form look like?
The Order Form is typically white. If you have already paid for the test(s) on your kit, please disregard the bottom half of this form. If you have not ordered a test, or would like to order additional tests, you may use this form or contact us to place the order.
You may use the top portion of this form to update the tester’s contact information, or the tester may sign in to the kit and do so during New Customer Onboarding.
If you picked up your extra kits at a conference or other event, your contact information may not be associated with the kit, making it difficult to identify and grant access to you or the tester after it has been returned.
If you are unsure if your contact information is on the kit, or if you’d like to replace or update it, please fill out the top half of this form and include it with the samples.
What should the plastic bag look like?
Your collection kit should include a small, zippered plastic bag with a sticker with our logo, the kit number, and a barcode.
When samples have been collected, please seal them inside this bag. If you do not have this bag, you can replace it with any zippered plastic bag.
What should the return envelope look like?
All kits should include a small, padded return mailing envelope.
Kits mailed to an address in the United States and will be returned from the United States should also have a return label.
Kits shipped outside the United States will not have a return label.
If you’ve been with FamilyTreeDNA since the early days and have extra collection kits from those early days, check the address on the return mailing envelope before sending a sample back.
In the early 2000s, FamilyTreeDNA moved offices to where we are today. If the following address is not on your return envelope, use a different envelope to mail your sample back and put this address on it:
FamilyTreeDNA
1445 North Loop West
Suite 820
Houston, Texas 77008
Be sure to check the address carefully– our old office was at 1919 North Loop West, so it will look similar to the current one.
Additionally, for domestic US orders, your prepaid return label may no longer be valid, which will cause delays in receiving your samples back at the lab.
If your kit is several years old, check with USPS that the label is still valid before returning your samples.
If you do not have a return envelope, your postage is no longer valid, or our old address is on the envelope, you may replace it with any padded mailing envelope.
What do I do if the kit numbers don’t match?
All materials you will return to the lab will have a sticker with the kit number and barcode on them– the vials, the forms, and the plastic bag.
Check each item to make sure the kit number is the same. If your materials have two different kit numbers or no kit numbers, please contact us for a complimentary replacement.
How can I tell if a test was ordered on my kit?
If you have several extra kits, they’re most likely just the DNA collection kits– you haven’t ordered a test on them yet. Or they might have a Family Finder, Y-DNA, or mtDNA test on them– or a combination of those tests.
When you placed your order, you would have received an Order Confirmation email that lists each kit and test in the order. If you’ve been holding on to kits for years, you may no longer have that email (or maybe not even the email address you placed the order with!).
If you are unsure if your kit has an order placed on it, or what that order is, please contact us.
What should I do after collecting my DNA sample?
When it comes to kits you have used to collect a sample, the best thing to do is mail it back as soon as possible. If for any reason you are unable to mail it back immediately, please make sure the kit is stored at room temperature.
About the Author
Katy Rowe-Schurwanz
Product Manager at FamilyTreeDNA
Katy Rowe-Schurwanz has always been interested in genealogy, inspired by her maternal grandparents, who told her stories about their family and family history when she was little. After studying anthropology and history in college, she joined FamilyTreeDNA in 2015 and became the Trainer for Customer Support. Katy created and improved training processes and was fundamental in the creation of the Big Y Specialist team. In September 2021, she became Product Manager and has focused closely on improving FamilyTreeDNA’s genetic genealogy products.