99.9 Percent, a DNA Match, and a Bittersweet Triad

This morning we awoke to an email from our social worker stating that she had our DNA match in hand, exactly one week from when the birth mother and The Bebe took the DNA test.

The attorney presents all documents, photos, and medical test results to the US Embassy.

·         The Embassy reviews the file and gives approval for the DNA testing, which is carried out by authorized medical personnel and analyzed by an approved laboratory in the US, under strict chain of custody procedures. 

·         The birth mother and child are escorted to the embassy-approved doctor where their identities are verified and saliva samples are collected for DNA analysis.  The child’s thumbprint is taken and put into the adoption case file.  To verify the child’s identity, US Embassy personnel compare this thumbprint to those taken when the birth was registered or when the birth mother signed custody of the child to the attorney. The birth mother’s identity is verified through her original cedula (photo identification card), a photocopy of which was entered in the adoption case file at the time the birth mother relinquished custody of the child to the attorney. The birth mother’s thumbprints are also taken. A polaroid photograph is taken of the birth mother holding the child on her lap and is attached to the DNA file. The birth mother and foster mother sign forms attesting to their identities, and the birth mother signs her consent for the DNA analysis.

·         The laboratory sends a copy of the DNA test results (with photos) directly to the US Embassy in Guatemala, and to the adoptive parents and adoption agency.

·         The US Embassy reviews the test results and all supporting documentation. If all documents are in order, the US Embassy/BCIS provides the attorney with the Consentimiento (consent form), which is required before the PGN will authorize the attorney to prepare the final adoption decree.

We are now waiting for the Family Court documents to be finalized (if you read last week’s post the Birth Mother attended family court last week). I can’t imagine how hard that was for her…seeing her child again, officially relinquishing him, telling her story to a social worker? She even took (perhaps) a picture with him to send to us…for him to have. My only hope is that she had someone with her to comfort her and to offer her peace. In my heart I hope that it was his birth father (so that he could at least see him, smell him, touch him) but I know that life is not always like that.

From Guatadopt:

The Family Court social worker reviews the dossier, interviews the birth mother, schedules appointments with the birth mother and foster family, and may visit the child in foster care or the orphanage. During the interview with the birth mother, the social worker explains that: (a) the adoption is irrevocable, (b) she will lose the patria potestas and guardianship of her child, and (c) she may never see the child after the adoption is final. The social worker asks the birth mother if anyone in her family can care for the child, and determines if the birth mother has voluntarily, freely, definitively, and irrevocably granted her express consent for her child to be adopted. The social worker writes a report that summarizes the facts of the case and attests to the birth mother’s reasons for deciding that she cannot parent the child. In most cases, the social worker recommends that the Family Court judge approve the adoption. The court reviews the social worker’s report and makes its rrecommendation. The birth mother appears before the notary and signs her second consent to place her child for adoption.

We know that The Bebe’s birth mother did attend family court, that she did sign her second consent to place him for adoption, and that the DNA is a 99.9 percent match. On our end, the news is good; the process is moving right along and we can’t wait to welcome him into our home.

On her end? I don’t know how that feels but this triad is bittersweet.