The Power of Paternity Testing

According to people who live through it, it is hell going through life without knowing who your biological father is. It is a similarly hellish experience, (as a man) bringing up a kid without knowing whether it is really yours’ – unless that is a choice you have consciously made. Yet the number of people living through these experiences has been on the rise in the last few decades.

            The number of kids – who eventually grow into adults – without knowing who their biological fathers are is on the rise, as women become and more sexually liberated, and as more and more opt for unconventional methods of getting kids, like where they opt to conceive through the products of the various sperm banks now spread out throughout the globe. In the same vein, as the sexually liberated ladies compartmentalize the roles of the men in their life (where man is for instance give the role of being the baby father, while another one is assigned to be the provider and yet the another one the role of being a protector), many men are finding themselves bringing up children whose paternity they are not quite sure of.

            Both the offspring living without knowing their real biological fathers as well as the men bringing up children they are not sure are biologically theirs’ are people who can benefit from the power of paternity testing.

While paternity testing has been with us for a number of decades, the methods used to be unreliable, and many people thought it better to live with convenient lies, rather than try to pursue an inconvenient truth through inconvenient means.

The modern paternity test has however changed all this, and we are increasingly seeing more and more people coming out to search for the truth regarding either their paternity or the paternity of the children they are bringing up, hoping that such truth will ‘set them free’. The typical modern paternity test is actually a DNA test, whose results are more often than not incontestable. Furthermore, unlike the olden paternity test – which typically required for drawing of blood to be used in an eliminatory test based on blood groups, all that is typically required for the modern paternity test (which, as mentioned, is a DNA test) is for the participants to swab their inner cheeks, which are rich in DNA sample material. Obviously this kind of a swab is more convenient, less painful and less intrusive than drawing blood for blood group comparison.

But the real power of the modern paternity test lies in its accuracy. As mentioned, the modern paternity test, which is in essence a DNA test, is both eliminatory (it eliminates the possibility that so and so could be so and so’s father) and confirmatory, seeing that the DNA patterns of closely related people, say father and kid, tend to be related in some incontestable ways.

Money is of course a major force in the world, and another facet of the power of the modern paternity test is its low – and falling – cost. A DNA test which was a few year’s ago beyond the reach of many people is increasingly becoming more and more affordable, and within the reach of the masses.

And the ultimate power of the modern paternity test lies in its ability to reveal the truth, and thus free the people who take it, from the bondage of living in uncertainty over something as unalterable as paternity.

Want to Live an Extra 10 Years?

Prenatal Paternity Test ? Dispels the Doubt, Establishes the Truth

Prenatal paternity test – Definition

The paternity test is done to determine the biological father of the baby. If the test is done in times of pregnancy, it is called the prenatal paternity test. This test is not a newly devised idea to establish the paternity. The test was first performed in 1953 immediately after an amazing discovery that each of us has a unique DNA structure.

Prenatal paternity test – Is it necessary?

There can only be a mixed answer to this question. It is required for an individual who has any doubt over his paternity of the to-be-born child. Though the paternity test can be done even after the birth of the baby, but for the immediate clearance of doubt, the prenatal paternity test is the only answer. Some suspect that their wives are having extra marital relationships and most probably they have not fathered the unborn children. In that case they urge their spouses to give consent to this paternity test to dispel the doubt out of mind.

Prenatal paternity test – Is it ethical?

It requires a long debate and still any unanimous consensus can be reached at. There is hardly any universal yardstick to measure the ethics. The moral perspective of a person may match or can be at great variance with that of the other. But this is the only route to be sanguine of the paternity of a child. The DNA paternity test can also be done to dig out the truth regarding the paternity issue. Such test can be performed even when the child grows up. But in that case, it may be a disturbing fact for the child in the event of any negative result. The child will be mentally crippled due to the explosion of truth. Prenatal paternity test is safe because the unborn child will not have any feel of trauma or turbulence if the result of the test is unexpected and shocking. Some ethical problems may be involved in the whole issue but the test is legally approved.

Prenatal paternity test – How is it done?

The DNA is a tiny, twisted and twirl strand that plays the most vital role in carrying the hereditary factor from one generation to the other. The configuration of the four components, adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine are responsible for our physical attributes that we inherit from our parents and also any abrupt mutation. The DNA paternity test is done by comparing the DNA samples of the parents with the structure of the child. The prenatal paternity test can be done in either of the two ways though some amount of risk is involved in both of them.

One of the tests is known to be CVS. It is the abbreviated form of Chorionic Villi Sampling. It is done at the early stage of pregnancy (within 10 to 13 weeks of conception). The cells from the placenta are extracted to determine and reveal the parental identity of the child. The second process of the paternity test is called amniocentesis. It involves a process of insertion into the amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby and cells. Both of the tests involve insertion of an exotic object into the body that may cause infection to the expecting mother and also inflict injury to the baby. So the doctor must have a prolonged experience and enough expertise to perform the risky prenatal paternity test.

Want to Live an Extra 10 Years?

The Future of Paternity testing

Looking at the past can in many cases give you a picture of what the future is likely to be like. And in that spirit, looking at the past of paternity testing – from a time when it was basically a research technology with few applications outside the laboratory to a point in time when it is considered a mainstream biomedical technology – we can make a number of predictions on what the future of paternity testing is likely to shape up.

            For one, we can confidently predict that demand for paternity testing is likely to grow. As more and more people (and especially men) become sensitized on the workings of paternity testing, we are likely to see more and more of them coming forward to request a paternity test to ascertain that the people they present proudly as ‘their children’ are indeed their offspring. The future society is also likely to be more open to such steps of courage, which in current society would be seen as distrustful in a family situation, that where the children’s mother is likely to feel that her man doesn’t trust her should he venture to request for such a paternity test. What we are likely to see is an openness where a request to have the children undergo a DNA test (from the man) won’t be seen as distrustful, but rather simply as an attempt to know the truth, which ‘sets free.’ Now the idea of women being open to suggestions from their man that their children undergo a DNA test might seem far-fetched, but there is no denying that society is fast becoming more and more open to novel ideas.  

            We can also predict that cost of paternity testing is likely to fall. With current developments in biomedical technology, we can expect (in the foreseeable future) a situation where it will be possible to produce very cheap disposable kits through which anyone with an interest can conduct a DNA test at their convenience and on their own, upon reading a few instructions on how to go about it. This would be a major development, because a huge component of the current considerably high cost of a paternity test goes to the payment of the people who conduct the test, seeing that with the relatively modest technology commonly available today, the DNA test normally has to be conducted by a high skilled professional in a highly equipped laboratory. 

            New applications for paternity testing are also likely to be found in the future. Indeed, it is so hard to foresee a point in time when for instance, no man will be willing to take responsibility for a child before undergoing a DNA test with the child, just to be sure that the child is indeed his. This will be a time when women will have been sexually liberated to the extent that men are liberated today, and where it will be considered ‘only fair’ that a man ascertains the paternity of a child before taking parental responsibility for it. And while this might sound like the stuff science fiction is made of, one might actually be amazed to learn that some couples in the so-called ‘open’ relationship are already considering these types of arrangements, where paternity is first ascertained before paternal responsibilities are assumed.

Looking at the past can in many cases give you a picture of what the future is likely to be like. And in that spirit, looking at the past of paternity testing – from a time when it was basically a research technology with few applications outside the laboratory to a point in time when it is considered a mainstream biomedical technology – we can make a number of predictions on what the future of paternity testing is likely to shape up.

            For one, we can confidently predict that demand for paternity testing is likely to grow. As more and more people (and especially men) become sensitized on the workings of paternity testing, we are likely to see more and more of them coming forward to request a paternity test to ascertain that the people they present proudly as ‘their children’ are indeed their offspring. The future society is also likely to be more open to such steps of courage, which in current society would be seen as distrustful in a family situation, that where the children’s mother is likely to feel that her man doesn’t trust her should he venture to request for such a paternity test. What we are likely to see is an openness where a request to have the children undergo a DNA test (from the man) won’t be seen as distrustful, but rather simply as an attempt to know the truth, which ‘sets free.’ Now the idea of women being open to suggestions from their man that their children undergo a DNA test might seem far-fetched, but there is no denying that society is fast becoming more and more open to novel ideas.  

            We can also predict that cost of paternity testing is likely to fall. With current developments in biomedical technology, we can expect (in the foreseeable future) a situation where it will be possible to produce very cheap disposable kits through which anyone with an interest can conduct a DNA test at their convenience and on their own, upon reading a few instructions on how to go about it. This would be a major development, because a huge component of the current considerably high cost of a paternity test goes to the payment of the people who conduct the test, seeing that with the relatively modest technology commonly available today, the DNA test normally has to be conducted by a high skilled professional in a highly equipped laboratory. 

            New applications for paternity testing are also likely to be found in the future. Indeed, it is so hard to foresee a point in time when for instance, no man will be willing to take responsibility for a child before undergoing a DNA test with the child, just to be sure that the child is indeed his. This will be a time when women will have been sexually liberated to the extent that men are liberated today, and where it will be considered ‘only fair’ that a man ascertains the paternity of a child before taking parental responsibility for it. And while this might sound like the stuff science fiction is made of, one might actually be amazed to learn that some couples in the so-called ‘open’ relationship are already considering these types of arrangements, where paternity is first ascertained before paternal responsibilities are assumed.

Want to Live an Extra 10 Years?

How to Interpretate DNA Paternity Test Results

Many people think that a DNA paternity test will give a “yes” or “no” answer. The truth is that it is slightly a bit more complicated than that. In the vast majority of tests, either an “inclusion” or “exclusion” result will be reported.

What an Inclusion Means

An inclusion is reported with a probability of paternity (POP) of 99% or more and a match is found at all genetic markers tested. In an inclusion report, it is stated that the alleged father “cannot be excluded” as being the biological father of the tested child. These three words often create a lot of confusion. This wording is used since an inclusion can not ever be reported at 100%. However, the combined paternity index (CPI) should also be looked at, as it can help to make the results more understandable. First though, it should be understood that the bare minimum for reporting an inclusion result is with a POP of 99% and a CPI of 100 (alleged father and child only) or 500 (alleged father, child and mother). Since our laboratory utilizes an advanced analysis of fifteen genetic markers as a standard, we normally see POPs and CPIs far exceed the minimum requirement. So, when the CPI is say, 100,000, it can be interpreted as a 1 in 100,000 (of the defined male racial population) certainty that the alleged father is the biological father of the tested child.

What an Exclusion Means

An exclusion is reported with a POP of 0.00%. In an exclusion result, it will be seen that at at least two genetic markers, there is a non-match. In an exclusion report, it is stated that the alleged father “was excluded” as being the biological father of the tested child. When an exclusion is reported, a second, independent test will be performed to confirm that the exclusion can be duplicated.

Other Possibilities

Another possible result may be an inclusion with a mutation. In most cases, an inclusion result means that at all tested genetic markers, a match is found. However, sometimes an inclusion can be reported when all but one marker has a match (or, in rare cases, two). Known mutations have a specific frequency in various racial populations and, often, that frequency is low. So, when the mutation frequency is figured into the formula for calculating the POP, it can possibly cause the POP to fall below 99%. To confirm mutations, it is always recommended that the mother test, if she has not already, or to perform extended testing of additional markers.

Want to Live an Extra 10 Years?

Can I Do a Paternity Test if the Alleged Father is Dead?

DNA testing is the most reliable way of confirming the biological relationship between two individuals. The most widely applied test is the DNA Paternity test whereby an alleged father is tested to confirm whether he is the biological father of a child or not. The test is relatively straightforward to do and involves rubbing oral swabs on the inside of the mouth and submitting it to the laboratory for analysis.

However, there are situations where the alleged father is not available for testing because he has passed away. Many think that in such circumstances there is no solution to this problem and the paternity can never be established conclusively.

In reality, there are a number of options possible for confirming the identity of the father. One of them is through DNA Relationship Testing, which is similar to DNA Paternity Testing but involves testing close members of the family to confirm various types of relationships. Tests can be performed between siblings, uncle/aunt and niece/nephew and grandparents. These tests are beyond the scope of this article but are worth exploring as an option where the father is not available for testing.

In case of death, we will explore three separate scenarios and what the client needs to do in these situations:

Case 1: If the person has just died and it is still possible to obtain biological material from the body (usually this period is not more than one week from time of death), it is recommended that the Client tries to obtain (where possible) hair samples with root as well as fingernail cuttings. A technically qualified laboratory should be able to extract DNA from these samples and use the DNA to perform the paternity comparison.

Case 2: In the event that the body has already been buried, samples may be obtained in an indirect manner – for example through a toothbrush, comb (might contain useful hairs), dentures or recently smoked cigarettes. These samples are all likely to contain DNA material that can be used to perform the test. However, success in obtaining DNA from such samples depend on a number of factors most importantly the condition of the sample and how much DNA it contains (e.g. a fully smoked cigarette vs a relatively unused one.)

Case 3: In cases where the body has been buried for a number of years, and the samples available are skeletal remains, it is recommend that a bone fragment from the shaft of the femur and/or the humerus weighing approximately 2 grams and/or two teeth per individual are obtained.

The above are some of the options available. The most important element is to be able to obtain a sample from the deceased person that may contain DNA. Of course the costs and difficulties in obtaining a sample in Case 3 (e.g. body will require exhumation) are relatively higher than simply obtaining some hair or fingernails from the body. However, each case has its own specifics and one is always advised to seek advice from an expert in this field (e.g. forensic pathologist) or the company that will be used to do the testing.

Want to Live an Extra 10 Years?