+353 (1) 685 6929 A DNA test can be used to determine a child’s paternity, genetic identity and siblingship. What can one expect from the process and the results?
In today’s society, DNA testing is being widely used to determine the genetic relationships between people, and is a highly accurate and definitive tool in the process of establishing one’s genetic identity. With its tests being carried out in the strictest and most advanced laboratory conditions, the level of accuracy has improved to the highest standards. Due to accessibility of DNA testing through online companies, DNA testing is being used more and more in domestic cases of biological relationship disputes. If a biological relationship exists between people, and the correct samples are taken, a DNA test will highlight this.
How to prepare for a DNA test?
One you have selected the company you wish to use for your DNA tests, a sampling DNA kit will be sent to your home. You must take samples from all the people to be involved in the test. In most paternity tests this will include the alleged father, the child, or children, and in some cases the mother too. The most commonly used tool for collecting the sample is the oral swab – this involves rubbing the swab and collecting cheek cells from the inside mouth. These must be allowed to dry thoroughly, making sure that tip of swab doesn’t touch anything else, even your own hand. This will ensure samples are not contaminated and guarantee accurate results.
Normally, it is requested that you take two samples for each person being testing, in case of difficulty extracting in DNA from one swab, there will be a second to try. Once the swabs have been left to dry for an hour or so, they can be carefully placed in the envelopes provided, correctly labelled and sealed.
What is the testing process like?
Once you have collected all the samples, and correctly stored and sent them off, they will arrive at the allocated laboratory for testing. In a secure and controlled environment, they will now be tested for DNA analysis. DNA will be extracted from the cells present in each sample, and compared with those collected in the other samples.
At that stage, the analysis will look at different alleles (genetic markers) in a child’s DNA and compare them to those of the alleged father and mother. A person gets half his DNA from the father and half from the mother. Hence, for a child to be related to the parent there will have to be a match in all of the alleles analysed. If a discrepancy is noted, and some of the alleles do not match, then this will exclude the father from being the biological father of the child.
DNA test results – What do they say?
Your DNA test results will be sent to you via email and post, unless otherwise specified. This is to provide you with the tests as quickly as possible via email and also to have a copy of it in writing. The DNA test results report will show the individual genetic profile for the each person tested, consisting of the 21 markers identified. The result will also show the percentage probability of paternity, which in a positive result will be in excess of 99.99%.
While the ethics debate on DNA testing rages on, there can be no doubt that the need for this type of testing in today’s society is great. For individual paternity tests, identity crisis issues, genetic family trees, criminal investigations and medical history, DNA testing has now become a known solution.
Visit our DNA Testing page for more information.