The number of people using home kits for DNA testing provided by companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe is quickly increasing.

Anita Foeman, a professor of media and communications at West Chester University, said that families should have honest discussions about their past before taking a step that could have life-altering consequences, writes Jim Rosenfield for NBC7 San Diego.

Foeman has studied DNA testing kits for 13 years. The trend has been growing so fast that she believes, over the next several years, more than 100 million people will submit their DNA for testing. But the results are not always what people expect.

“It is changing the way that we think about each other, our relationships to one another, and what’s sort of out there and what we can keep secret,” said Foeman.

People learn less about their ancestry and more about their immediate family. Sometimes, the discovery makes them realize they are not biologically connected to one or both of their parents.

“I’ll test two classes of 50, and two people will find something where they’re like, ‘Woah!’” said Foeman. “So, it’s not typical, but it happens regularly.”

Read more about DNA testing kits from NBC7 San Diego here.

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