How long does Family Finder results take?

[efgen]

Can anyone tell me if kit # 337387 has passed the quality control check and if so, when can we expect to see the results?

Yep, it passed, so it should be uploaded very soon, possibly by Monday.

Elise

[loudam]

Elsie

Is it possible to check my FF Kit No 347419 its in batch 574 too....

[efgen]

Is it possible to check my FF Kit No 347419 its in batch 574 too....

Yours appears to still be running -- I don't see any pass/fail stats yet.

Elise

[loudam]

So at this stage I could still get a fail and it goes back to 4 weeks waiting??

Why is not possible to update the kits as they are going through the process, even if it just went from in the Lab status to, Passed or Failed Status, to expect results status...
It really is very frustrating waiting to 4 weeks and still not knowing if it's even passed in the first place....

[efgen]

So at this stage I could still get a fail and it goes back to 4 weeks waiting??

Right, we won't know until the test is complete and the results go through the quality check.

Why is not possible to update the kits as they are going through the process, even if it just went from in the Lab status to, Passed or Failed Status, to expect results status...

Providing a customized status on myFTDNA has been on the wish list. There are reasons why we're not able to do this yet, but I'm not privvy to all the details.

It really is very frustrating waiting to 4 weeks and still not knowing if it's even passed in the first place....

4 weeks is actually a short wait time. Until fairly recently, FF tests were taking 4-6 weeks, and at one point they were taking 6-8 weeks or more. Most of our other tests still have the longer timeframes.

However, I do agree, the wait is the most painful part of this

Elise

[loudam]

I know it probably seems like a short time, but if you get to 4 weeks and then it fails thats when it becomes a pain!!

I know these are all small little things but from talking to others who have done the tests before it seems a lot has changed in the last few weeks with test results with no standard time frame at the moment...

I ordered the test on the 10th May so it's not really a short time frame, it's now 2 months since I originally started...

But i'll wait it out!!!!

[loudam]

I meant to ask how long until there is a status on the kit if it has passed or failed???

[migoblu]

FYI, I just found out that we have a large group of FF results getting uploaded between today and Monday.

I can also see that your test is complete and passed the quality check, so it should be included in this upload, meaning you should have your results by Monday.

Elise

Do they use the same Kit # as they did for my Y-DNA test? My Y-DNA Kit # is 212709, is that the Kit # you stated above that is "complete and passed the quality check"? Thanks for all the info, Elise.

[familylegend]

I don't have complete visibility into the lab, but I don't see updated results in your account yet, so the 2nd run is probably still in process. If the 2nd run started around July 2, then I wouldn't expect to see results for another week or two.

Elise

Thank you Elise for checking on my FF test status. I had called FTDNA last week and the person I spoke with promised to email me the next day with an update. That email never came! But I do appreciate your efforts to answer all of our questions. My biggest worry is that the 2nd test will fail again, and I don't want to start all over and go thru the same frustration again. I really think there needs to be a major overhaul on the entire process to ensure successful test results and provide automatic status updates. If I had known that the FF test was this unreliable, I never would have ordered it. The fact that the DNA sample I submitted for the Y37 test (with successful results) suddenly was not high enough quality, tells me that something is flawed. Whatever the failure rate is, it is too high, and unacceptable for customer satisfaction.

[familylegend]

Family Finder Fail Rate

I just read that only 85% of Family Finder tests pass quality control in the first test run. Thus, on average, 15% of all Family Finder tests need to be re-run... Very discouraging stats! I wonder how many pass the 2nd run??

[efgen]

My biggest worry is that the 2nd test will fail again, and I don't want to start all over and go thru the same frustration again. I really think there needs to be a major overhaul on the entire process to ensure successful test results and provide automatic status updates. If I had known that the FF test was this unreliable, I never would have ordered it.

The FF test is not unreliable. It's a very sensitive test, and so it requires a high quality DNA sample. FTDNA also has very high standards to ensure accuracy, which I'll discuss more below.

While there are cases of the 2nd run failing too, the vast majority pass.

The fact that the DNA sample I submitted for the Y37 test (with successful results) suddenly was not high enough quality, tells me that something is flawed. Whatever the failure rate is, it is too high, and unacceptable for customer satisfaction.

Family Finder requires much more DNA and is a much more sensitive test than Y-DNA.

A failure isn't a complete failure of the test. With a microarray chip test like Family Finder, there are always going to be a certain amount of "no-calls" (no results obtained) for some of the tested positions. Success or failure of the test is determined by the percentage of successful calls, or call rate.

Family Tree DNA requires a high call rate for a test result to pass quality control -- this is to provide the most accurate results possible to customers. This call rate is definitely achievable with a good quality swab that contains a high quantity of DNA.

I've seen some tests "fail" because they're just slightly below the minimum passing call rate. Some people would say why not just pass it, then -- well because the minimum was set for a reason, and we can't have it be a moving target. The line has to be drawn somewhere

I just read that only 85% of Family Finder tests pass quality control in the first test run. Thus, on average, 15% of all Family Finder tests need to be re-run... Very discouraging stats! I wonder how many pass the 2nd run??

I don't know where you read that statistic, but to my knowledge, it's not at all accurate. I've seen some recent stats, and while I don't have the authority to reveal specifics, I can tell you that the percentage of failures is definitely well below 15%.

Elise

[familylegend]

Elise, your explanation about the testing process is reassuring, and I appreciate that very much. You said "a test failure is not a complete failure." By that, are you saying that the 1st and 2nd test runs would be combined until they reach the required percentage of successful calls? Therefore, the successful calls of the first test would be added to the successful calls of the 2nd test?

My Family Finder test apparently failed by a very small margin, so I am feeling more hopeful now that the 2nd run will be successful. If I am still misunderstanding the process, please let me know. Thank you!

[1798]

I bought the Family Finder test on 6-5-2014. I was told it would take 1-2 weeks to get the results as they were using my Y-DNA swab. It's been over 2 weeks now, dies it take longer than I am giving it? Thanks.

My son was in batch 575 and it took three weeks. My FF test also took three weeks.

[loudam]

My son was in batch 575 and it took three weeks. My FF test also took three weeks.

You see thats what I can't understand, how results can come in from a batch ahead of the one lots of us are waiting for results from..... Surely one batch is done before the next one....

[familylegend]

You see thats what I can't understand, how results can come in from a batch ahead of the one lots of us are waiting for results from..... Surely one batch is done before the next one....

I don't get it either, loudam, that batch 575 took 3 weeks, but your earlier batch is taking 6 weeks. Maybe it's equivalent to picking the "slow" line in the grocery store... My daughter works in a pharmaceutical lab and thinks the delay is probably due to lab errors.