Distant Relatives, Sharing The Same Deoxyribonucleic Acid.

Posted on Tue, 29 May 2012

Question: Hello
Recently my husband and I found out we were distant relatives after an uncle traced his genealogy. We were quite shocked as we were strangers who met on a street! Apparently we are quite distant (more than 4th cousins) We already have a healthy baby daughter. Should we be worried about birth defects or anything else? Also, someone said that by that far down the line you would share the same DNA as strangers. Is this correct?

Thank you

Answered by Dr. Kiran Kumar (30 hours later)

Hi,

Thanks for the query.

You have mentioned that you and your husband are 4th generation cousins. Well, most of the congenital diseases and birth defects occur in marriages which occur in first and second degree relatives. Also, it occurs if there has been a family history of birth defects.

In your case, there is no cause of concern. Be reassured.

There will be some DNA similarities however, it will be insignificant.

Even if you plan to expand your family, you can without any undue risk.

Hope this answers your query. In case of any doubts, I am available for the follow ups.

Thanks and regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari