Your Family DNA Searcher

21/05/2026

Yesterday it was lovely to be reminded of what a difference my DNA family research means to people.

I’ve heard it often…..
…. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders
…. I now feel that I have an identity
…. This has changed my life.

It’s sometimes hard to comprehend how it must feel to have never had a name for your father, or even your mother, or sadly either parent because you were abandoned at birth.

Yesterday was a big boost for me because we all need to feel appreciated sometimes.

27/04/2026

FINAL UPDATE ON MY FOUNDLING CASE

After many ups and downs, the story has an ending…..or hopefully it’s just beginning.

The ‘Foundling’ came to me for help over two years ago but as I got closer to identifying his parents he made the decision to put the search on hold.

Happily, a few months ago, he asked me to carry on and I eventually identified both his birth parents.

Sadly his birth father passed a few years ago but his 85 year old birth mother is still alive and I managed to track her down.

This weekend I am over the moon to say that he met up with his two half brothers on his father’s side and with his birth mother. It’s life changing for him and a pretty momentous achievement for me too.

Miracles do happen 😇

10/03/2026

UPDATE contact had been made 🩷

The Foundling Case

A few people have asked for an update after I posted the letter to the potential birth mother a couple of weeks ago.

Sadly, but unsurprisingly, I’ve not had a response, so today I posted off a follow up letter for which a signature of receipt is required. Hopefully she’ll receive it as kindly as it is intended but we’ll see how she reacts.

Watch this space.

24/02/2026

Excellent news for The Institute of Cancer Research.

My DNA research has now raised over £3,000 for the ICR, including gift aid, so thanks to everyone who has donated 🙏🏻

🎉🥳Today, Their Majesties The King and Queen honoured the ICR with the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education.

We are so proud to be recognised for our sustained, world-leading contributions to radiotherapy research and education.

This award celebrates more than a century of innovation that has transformed radiotherapy into a highly precise, personalised treatment used worldwide.

ICR’s Chief Executive, Professor Kristian Helin, accepted the award on behalf of the organisation.

♥️Thank you to our community whose dedication and commitment continues to drive our mission to defeat cancer.

Thank you to our partners at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation for working alongside us on groundbreaking research.

20/02/2026

Today I posted a very important letter, and with it comes a great deal of responsibility.

The letter was sent, in hope, to a lady in her 80s who left a baby in a pram in the street 60 years ago. The ‘baby’ is desperate to meet her. Up until a few weeks ago they had no idea who their parents were but I am optimistic that they’ve now got names of both from my DNA research.

I’ve taken as much advice as I can on this, including speaking to Ariel Bruce the lead social worker from Long Lost Family’s Born Without Trace (look it up on ITV), so I hope I have done the right thing.

Praying for a positive outcome 🙏🏻

02/02/2026

Foundling is an historic term for babies and children abandoned and therefore unable to identify their birth parents, that is until the advent of commercial DNA testing.

I have been involved in two searches involving foundlings and have realised that I’m in unfamiliar territory compared to other searches I have carried out. How do you approach a mother who years ago left her child in the street without causing untold trauma to her, plus the subsequent fall-out for the person searching?

Yesterday I reached out to Ariel Bruce, the lead social worker on the Long Lost Family and Born Without Trace TV programmes for some advice and today she called me back.

Her overriding message was that I should refer any foundlings who come to me for help, to her so that the team on Born Without Trace can provide the appropriate counselling and social worker support for them during and after the search. Something I say often is that I do the same research as is done on Long Lost Family without the back-up of a team of social workers etc. Unfortunately, it’s a risk people have to take as very few are taken on by the Long Lost Family TV research team.

The other thing Ariel spoke about, which I always encourage anyway, was to be very careful when approaching new found biological family as they can easily be scared off. I always offer to draft messages on behalf of the searcher as part of the support I give.

It was interesting to get an insight into how things work in the background of Born Without Trace and I’m very grateful to Ariel for her sound advice, which I will be following whilst continuing with my current foundling case.

20/12/2025

Wishing a very Happy Christmas to everyone who I have helped to find relatives and all who have followed the journey🎄

I am in the process of deciding how to carry on my DNA work so there maybe some changes in 2026. Thanks go to all who have taken the time to leave a review on my page and donations to The Institute of Cancer Research 🙏🏻

07/11/2025

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/james-watson-co-discoverer-dnas-double-helix-dead-97-2025-11-07/

We have to be grateful for this man’s discovery 🧬

James D. Watson, the brilliant but controversial American biologist whose 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, the molecule of heredity, ushered in the age of genetics and provided the foundation for the biotechnology revolution of the late 20th century, has died at the age of 97.

08/09/2025

I’ve had a very worrying experience ……

I was asked to pick up the pieces of a DNA case where a previous ‘searcher’ had claimed to have identified a lady’s birth father. Sadly he charged her for this service but had given her entirely the wrong name and understandably it has been very traumatic for her. How he came to the conclusion he did is beyond me!

The moral of the story is that if you’re looking to identify a birth father / mother / grandparent via DNA, you don’t have to pay. There are plenty of people, including me, who research free of charge. Don’t be conned by a charlatan!

29/07/2025

Overwhelmed to receive this beautiful gift all the way from New Zealand from someone who I help to navigate the vagaries of DNA. Often cases come my way as a result!

I’m always here to help where I can, even if it’s not to identify a birth parent.
I’ve got a wealth of experience now on how to interpret DNA results, so I’ll try to explain as best as I can if you get in touch.

20/05/2025

I haven’t shared this for a while but it’s such a worthwhile cause, it’s worth shouting about.
The Royal Marsden is the one UK’s leading cancer centres and this charity is their research arm.
I give my time freely to help people find their biological parents or grandparents and I feel that I’m doing something very worthwhile. A donation of any amount is always appreciated as a thank you. You never know how it may help a loved one in the future.

Help Anna Lamplough raise money to support The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)