The Real Deal With Home Paternity Testing

August 4, 2011 Leave a Comment
dna-kit-paternity

Laboratory paternity tests usually range from $150 to as much as $1,000.  On the average, a putative father is said to spend as $450 to $600 on paternity tests.  Some find these very expensive which is why there are fathers who are settling for home DNA test kits which usually cost around$30 to $89.  But are these tests credible?

Just like laboratory tests, home DNA testing kits determine if a person is the biological father through genetic samples.  Kits would have instructions and equipment needed to collect the DNA samples.  A cheek swab is used to get the sample and it is sent to the lab, properly labelled.  The results will be sent to you in more or less a week after sending the samples. Aside from the father and the child, the mother is also swabbed for samples.  This is establish a stronger connection.

Although they are less than a hundred dollars (or more) than laboratory tests, not everybody is suited to for a home DNA test. Those who will be using the DNA results in court and legal proceedings should get laboratory DNA testing instead of the home-test.  In legal paternity tests, the court seeks to establish that the DNA samples are monitored to avoid tampering or testing by a biased party.

Home paternity tests are usually performed outside of legal requirements. They are easy to acquire since convenience stores and online shops are selling these kits.  Once you send the results to the laboratory to analyze, they are bound to keep the results confidential.

In fact, to protect their client’s privacy, home paternity DNA laboratories, provide options on how clients would be informed of the results.  Some would allow you to access the paternity rest results online by using a provided username and password.  Some prefer receiving it through phone, the message has its password enabled too.  Or you could receive the results through mail.

Some would prefer home paternity testing before they proceed to legal action or legal paternity testing. This is to avoid any complicated situations in the family.  Others take home paternity testing just to satisfy their need to know the truth or  satisfy “curiosity.”  Home paternity testing is also ideal if you want to have a discreet and private test involving few punitive fathers.

When purchasing home DNA test kit, make sure that the laboratory performing the test is accredited by the AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) and is ISO17025 certified.  Aside from that, it is better to get a home test kit from a laboratory that offers customer and technical support during the entire process. Support representatives would be able to assist you with any kind of issue you may encounter while testing.

Recently, with the popularity of home DNA paternity test in the market, experts are already questioning the morality and success rate of these tests.  There are some home kits that cost as low as $19 which raise doubts on their accuracy.  However, for some fathers and relatives, it is more important to know the truth and they could learn about it for less than a hundred dollars.

share save 171 16 The Real Deal With Home Paternity Testing
Filed Under: DNA Screening Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What Is Paternity Fraud?

July 5, 2011 2 Comments
paternity fraud

Paternity fraud happens when a mother tags a person as the biological father, when she knows or suspects that the he is not the real father.  This is usually done to collect child support from the putative father.  In a survey done in 2004, about 90,000 men in the United States have been falsely accused of paternity each year.

About 300,000 DNA tests are conducted to establish paternity every year and 30% of these tests showed that the man is not the biological father of the child.  However, there are cases when the court orders continuous the child support even if the putative father is not the biological father.  It usually lasts until the child reached 18 years old.  According to statistics, about 1.6 million alleged fathers are paying for child support for their non-biological children.

Issues and questions begin to rise about paternity.  Men are forming a movement that intends to take steps in protecting themselves from paternity fraud.  State governments are starting to address this issue.

In 2001, Georgia passed a state law which permits courts to stop child support if it is proved that the putative father is not the biological father of the child in question.  Maryland is also facing the issue by allowing a specific period of time for the father to challenge paternity.  Almost other states have similar laws.

An example would be a paternity case in Florida where the father discovered that he is not the biological father through DNA testing.  But the Florida courts ruled on continuing the child support of $1,200 every month for 15 years, which is more than $200,000.  The reason? Because he missed the time requirement for filing the lawsuit challenging the paternity.  They are only given a year after the divorce to challenge the paternity.

Some state agencies would rather continue collecting child support even though they were not identified as the biological father through testing.  These agencies would get funds for collecting child support payments.

Most putative fathers, after finding out that they are not the biological father, would look for the real biological father.  Some would sue them for back support, medical insurance and other needs. But this would require the “real” biological father to admit paternity.  When challenging the paternity, the legal action normally takes about 6 to 24 months, depending with the state where you are located.

Also, with the advancement in technology, you do not have to wait for birth to conduct paternity DNA testing. There are DNA tests which could be conducted while the baby is in the womb of the mother.  The doctor would be the one taking the sample from the unborn child. Medical precautions, however, are taken to ensure that the tests would not harm the mother or the baby.

Paternity fraud was sometimes the center of jokes, take bumper stickers as an example. But it is no laughing matter when children get affected of how parents conducted their relationships and responsibility.  When a putative father discovered he is not the biological father, father and son relationships would be affected.  Surely, this kind of issue should keep us on our toes about relationships.

 

share save 171 16 What Is Paternity Fraud?
Filed Under: DNA Screening Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Common DNA Testing Issues

March 28, 2011 Leave a Comment
dnatest

DNA testing is 99.999% accurate according to statistics released by the American Medical Association. DNA testing is accepted as 100% factual evidence in every court of law in the United States. However, any time human interaction is involved, mistakes do happen. Below are some of the most common DNA testing issues or problems.

DNA Mixture

One of the most common problems that can arise in DNA testing is a DNA mixture. This is cpmmon when one or more people have contributed to a sample. These mixtures can be confusing and are sometimes subject to a few interpretations.

Improper or Altered Collection

The biggest mistake that can be made when doing a DNA test for paternity is an improper or altered sample collection of specimens from which to extract the DNA that are obtained from the subjects being tested.

Degradation

DNA testing issues and problems can also arise from degradation. A sample can degrade when it is too old or exposed to harsh conditions.

Imbalances

Peak height imbalance can also cause DNA testing issues and problems. If the difference in the height of the two peaks is greater than 30% it is generally considered that a peak height imbalance has occurred. Taking into consideration that a sample from one person should contain peaks that are almost equivalent in height, an imbalance of peaks means that the sample is a mixture.

Additional Issues

Other issues may be that barcodes may be placed on the wrong specimen, an inattentive laboratory technician may scan the wrong item, a computer error can corrupt or switch records inadvertently.

Preventing DNA Testing Issues

To prevent many of these issues that may arise,  DNA tests are done with more than one sample and results are checked independent of each other. In certain circumstances, a supervised collection can be administered to prevent improper or altered collections.

When searching for a DNA testing company, don’t be afraid to ask questions about their staff qualifications and their testing procedures.

share save 171 16 Common DNA Testing Issues
Filed Under: DNA Screening Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,