How a Man’s 23andMe Test Results Saved Dad’s Life

An at-home genealogy test kit may have saved one dad’s life. Andrew String says he ordered a 23andMe kit because there was a sale going on, but he got more than he bargained for with the results. He was looking for genealogy and health information and the test revealed he had a deficiency of Factor II in his blood, which could lead to clotting. A week after he got his results his father was stricken with blood clots in his lungs and heart. Inside Edition Digital’s Mara Montalbano has more.

[SparklyStoner]

I have the Factor II mutation but found out the hard way after birth control triggered it and I had my first of 3 clotting events when I was 19. My 23andMe showed I have Factor II also, so it’s definitely a reliable test and everyone, especially women looking into birth control, should take one!

[SuperLazyGarfield]

I'm a geneticist and this is why I'm so passionate about my work. Our intention is just "to save lives".

[mycatiswaysmarterthanmosto]

My father found a long lost brother because of 23 and me. And my new uncle is amazing!! Incredibly, hes lived about 30 minutes away from me my whole life!! So grateful to have found him!

[professionalmoron]

Talk about insane timing! If he’d done it a week earlier he might not’ve remembered, a week later might’ve been too late. He’s lucky that he did it when he did.

[AnarinaTV]

Amazing story. I'm glad his dad is getting better.

[CharlotteIssyvoo]

Not knowing your family health history and genetic conditions can indeed kill you. I'd been having stomach pain and digestive struggles for years, decades even, when, two years ago, I was rushed to the ER with severe pancreatitis. I had to have emergency gallbladder removal. Because of the pogroms, the Holocaust, and the Soviet regime, my Jewish family had been torn apart in the 20thC and most branches no longer even knew the other branches existed. Before my surgery, I'd been doing my genealogy and brought all these family branches back together online. Guess what we figured out together after my surgery? Gallbladder disease runs in every single branch of the family! Just last week, yet another cousin had to have her gallbladder removed. If our family hadn't been torn apart, we would all have known about this and been able to tell our doctors. At least now, we can warn the younger generations and hopefully save them a lot of pain.

[Zealch_]

Incredible! Seeing how far technology has come in improving our health. There’s still more to come!

[nuanesd]

I was having a bad day. This story shows me what life can be about. I am so glad he is doing better 💜

[handl_me]

Well done Andrew, you saved your dad's life and am sure many more in the future❤️

[GardeninGrace]

I’m a carrier for the Factor V Leidon mutation, and my mom got tested and she has it too. It made sense given some of my family’s history (her cousin dropped dead from a pulmonary embolism a day after a annual doctors appointment) and my great aunts and uncles have all had history with blood clots.

It’s better to take one of these at home DNA tests if there is a sale, than to not.

[miriamfracavallo]

This test saved my life too. I have celiac disease and this is the only test that has detected the genetic variant.

[YouVSMeTV]

Great advertisement for 23andme for sure. Dad was lucky and tough, son is a lifesaver.

[darkwolf]

In Germany this option, to see your genetic factors, is not available, because of personal information (I don't get it either). This kit costs like under 100€, but here you would have to pay over 1000€ for a breast cancer gene test.

[ashleystromseth]

Thank goodness for those results, im happy the dad is recovering and is alive!

[jessicar]

Anytime someone develops blood clots it’s standard for the care team to order a hypercoag work up. It would’ve been found eventually, but thank goodness for the son and his quick thinking.

[ciamaechamae]

The sale happened at the right time and he bought it not knowing at first hand that this could help in his dads diagnosis

[mirandac]

I love seeing all of the awesome stories with these DNA kits. Many cold cases have been solved from this.

The fact that this simple DNA kit a person randomly decided to use our or curiosity actually led to a relative of theirs being caught as the GOLDEN STATE KILLER. They finally caught up many many many MANY years too late.

He’s old now (and tried his best to seem sickly and weak in court but was actually shown exercising and moving around perfectly in his cell 😂) but at least he was caught and in prison. What makes it worse is that he was actually a police officer the entire time of the many rapes and murders he committed. At least 13 murders, 50 rapes, and 120 burglaries he committed during his 1974-1986 crime span. Didn’t get caught until 2018.

He is now 76 and will die in prison. I only wish he would’ve been caught about 44 years earlier when his sadistic, evil rampage started.

[tomchan]

My husband could have died because they kept on misdiagnosing him say it was covid related. Nope he had abscesses in his liver. Took the 3 times to the ED and insisting something else was wrong.

[PaigeBatman]

Omg I have the prothrombin mutation aswell. I had a DVT that nearly killed me at age 16 after taking birth control. The clot also got infected, which is the only reason I ever found out. I regected the clot buster, which almost caused a brain hemorrhage. So, the docs called in a surgeon. The surgeon had to fly in from another state to do an angiovac on me. He pulled out a foot of clot from my abdomen and both legs. Said he'd never seen so much in someone so young. I needed two pints of blood. One during, and one after the surgery. This was back in 2020 at the beginning of the Pandemic, so I was only allowed to have one parent with me, and my dad wasn't allowed to leave me or swap with my mom. It was the worst two weeks of my life, but I'm so thankful that I'm alive and get to experience the rest of my life.

[estoyazucar]

Imagine, it doesn't just ruin families (finding out that there is another kid somewhere 😂) --- it also saves lives. 😱☺️