Family health history with no information on biological father (UK)

March 3, 2019 8:14 AM

My friend has no contact with his biological father, and he has a number of health problems. Is there any way for him to find out about the family health history of his biological father so he can learn more about his own health?

A few additional details:

-My friend knows who his biological father is, but doesn't want get in touch with him to ask about this directly as my friend doesn't want any contact with him. He left the family when my friend was very young.
-My friend's mother refuses to talk about his biological father, so we have no information from her and have no hope of getting any. He's not in contact with relatives he could ask about this.
-My friend was born in the late 70s. He was born and resides in the UK.

We'd really appreciate any advice on what to do as my friend finds this situation really distressing to deal with, and he's concerned about his health.

posted by Put the kettle on to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but in my extended family, there's a man, let's call him Josh, who never tried to find his biological dad because Josh's mom said the dad abandoned them. Well, through DNA testing, Josh found a bunch of half-siblings. They had been looking for Josh for years. They thought his name was John. The real story about the dad was more complicated; he did want a relationship with Josh, but the mom hadn't let that happen.

So, two things: in the bigger picture, I'd say that if the mom is the only source of information about the dad, then consider she might not be the most reliable source. More importantly, your friend could do the DNA testing thing. He might find some other relatives who have some medical history they could share with him.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:28 AM on March 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

What consumer DNA data can and can’t tell you about your risk for certain diseases
posted by bq at 9:05 AM on March 3, 2019

He could hire a lawyer or investigator to approach the Dad or other members of the Dad's family to ask for health information. If he explains to his Mom that's his plan, because he feels so strongly about the health information, she may be willing to reconsider.
posted by theora55 at 6:14 AM on March 4, 2019