LivingDNA offers three packages: the ancestry kit, the wellbeing kit, and the ancestry & wellbeing kit. The ancestry kit includes autosomal, mtDNA, and Y-DNA testing, increasing the accuracy of your results. Many DNA testing providers separate their autosomal, mtDNA, and Y-DNA offerings, or only offer limited options. So, LivingDNA’s ancestry kit is comprehensive and comparatively greater value for money.

The ancestry kit includes:

• Full ancestry reports, with a percentage breakdown of your ancestry and details of your maternal and paternal haplogroups.
• ‘Deep’ ancestry reports, including regional details and sub-regional percentage breakdowns, as well as maternal and paternal haplogroups and details that date back to over 80,000 years.
• Optional family matching, potentially helping you discover relatives in the LivingDNA database to connect with.

The wellbeing kit also includes optional family matching, along with:

• Ancestry wellbeing reports that give you insights into well-being factors such as muscle strength or vitamin D levels.
• Full wellbeing reports, with more than ten reports, including: vitamin response, lactose sensitivity, flexibility, and endurance response.

The wellbeing & ancestry kit contains the offerings of both the individual ancestry and wellbeing kits, and each of the three kits also comes with a cheek swab and return envelope. You can also pay extra for a custom supplement (this is based on your personalized vitamin recommendation from the wellbeing kit), or a personalized ancestry book (a coffee-table book that includes your genetic ancestry).

You can order LivingDNA’s kits directly off their website. The kits have a flat fee, and you’ll need to pay an additional shipping fee. And if you opt for the ancestry book or custom supplement, you’ll have to pay extra.

LivingDNA takes 6-8 weeks to display your results, which is quicker than brands that take 12 weeks but not as fast as the industry leaders that only take four weeks.

LivingDNA used to be under DNA worldwide, a British company founded in 2004. The brand was launched in 2016 and is currently one of the top 5 global DNA testing firms. LivingDNA offers comprehensive DNA testing (with autosomal, mtDNA, and Y-DNA tests), in addition to wellbeing testing.

The first step is to order your kit off LivingDNA’s website and wait for it to arrive. After receiving the kit, you need to activate it using the unique 12-digit code. This code will connect your sample to your account without revealing your personal information.

The activation step is crucial – since your personal details aren’t publicly shared, the code is the only link between your account and the sample.

After entering the code, you’ll need to provide your name, email address, date of birth, and sex. DNA tests ask for your sex because female samples cannot be tested with Y-DNA.

Once you’ve inputted your information, it’s time to take the test using the cheek swab. You should avoid eating, drinking, and smoking for at least thirty minutes prior to taking the sample.

After taking the sample, place it inside the vial and send your sample back to LivingDNA. Your results will be ready in six to eight weeks.

How do you view the results?

You can view your results directly from LivingDNA’s website. The results are divided into three categories: ancestry, wellbeing, and relatives.

If you take LivingDNA’s ancestry test, you can choose to get access to the autosomal DNA family-matching service. The ancestry test also provides biogeographical analysis with a sub-regional breakdown.

LivingDNA’s ancestry report segments the British Isles into 21 regions, but the platform does not yet offer regional breakdowns within Ireland. The platform’s African ancestry breakdown also spans 72 distinct regions.

As we mentioned before, LivingDNA’s ancestry test also includes mtDNA and Y-DNA testing. So, their database gives you haplogroup reports with information about your deep ancestry, including your patrilineal (for males only) and matrilineal heritage.

LivingDNA’s focus is on genealogy, but they’ve partnered with FindMyPast to give you records and help you build a family tree.

LivingDNA gives you complete ownership over your data – they don’t share it with any third parties, and you can choose whether to opt for their internal research or not. If you do opt-in, you have the option to opt out at any time.

LivingDNA does use aggregated data, however, to help improve its internal systems. The DNA testing provider is also GDPR compliant and collects only necessary information.

LivingDNA uses secure databases and anonymizes your data (before third parties can access it) to keep your information safe. You can also delete your data at any time, if you choose.