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Legal vs Home DNA Paternity Test
There may be a variety of different reasons for carrying out a Paternity DNA Testing
. At the most basic level a paternity DNA test is used to establish in a scientific manner whether an alleged father is indeed the biological father of the child. Through the comparison of the DNA profiles of the child with that of the alleged father, one is now able to establish with levels of probability that can be as high as 99.99% whether a biological relationship exists between an alleged father and the child, thus making DNA testing highly efficient and reliable.
Home DNA Paternity Test
Advances in DNA testing technology have now enabled paternity DNA tests to be carried out on samples of saliva, and for the consumer this has meant that DNA paternity tests can now be carried out in the comfort of one’s own home. In fact, whereas until recently, in order to perform a DNA paternity test, one had to visit a laboratory or a clinic, and have a blood sample taken, nowadays it is possible to carry out a paternity test using oral swabs that need to be simply rubbed along the inside of the mouth and the cheek. The samples are then left to dry and mailed back to the laboratory for analysis.
This kind of test is called a home paternity DNA test, and is very useful when one needs to have quick, reliable answers to paternity issues to satisfy one’s own need to know. If, however one needs to use these results for legal matters, such as legal recognition of a child as being one’s own, petitioning for child support and matters relating to immigration, one needs to order what is called a legal paternity test.
Legal DNA Paternity Test
In essence, a legal paternity test is a test in which the DNA samples are collected by an independent third party who becomes responsible for confirming the identities of the persons who are taking part in the test and assumes general responsibility for assuring that the DNA samples are not in any way tampered with. Therefore whilst in a home paternity DNA test, samples are usually collected by the participants themselves in their own home environment, a legal DNA paternity test usually necessitates a visit to a clinic or laboratory where the specialist will collect the samples.
Chain of Custody
This procedure is called maintaining the ‘chain of custody’, and is necessary in order to ensure that the test results are reliable, valid and that this fact can be witnessed by an independent third party. For this reason, results of a home DNA paternity test cannot be used in a court of law, because there is no way of proving without doubt that the persons participating in the test on paper are indeed the same persons who have provided the DNA samples. So, for example, a person who does not wish to provide child support may send a sample from another person instead of his own, using a home DNA paternity test. For this reason, the results of a home DNA paternity test can be used for ‘informational’ purposes only.
How the DNA test works
It is important to note that technically speaking, a home paternityDNA Testing for Immigration is identical to a legal paternity DNA test, and that the difference between the two tests lies exclusively in the method of collection of the samples. In both cases the DNA of the child is compared to that of the father, to check for correspondence in the genetic markers. If a large enough number of genetic markers are found to be in common, the alleged father is confirmed as being the genetic father of the child. Modern DNA paternity tests are extremely accurate and reliable, and can confirm paternity with levels of probability greater that 99.99%.
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a legal paternity test is a test in which the DNA samples are collected by an independent third party who becomes responsible for confirming the identities of the persons who are taking part in the test and assumes general responsibility for assuring that the DNA samples are not in any way tampered with. Therefore whilst in a home paternity DNA test.
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.
Top writer Kevin Camilleri writes about dna paternity test. The author focuses on topics about dna paternity and dna testing. Additional resources and articles written by Kevin Camilleri related to dna paternity testing are accessible on the net.
Five Top Things to Know About a Dna Paternity Test
Whilst the awareness about DNA Paternity testing has greatly increased throughout most of the world, there is still a lot of information about the test that is not known.
The following are the five top things to know about a DNA Paternity Test:
1. Most accurate method of determining biological relationships
A DNA Paternity test is the most accurate way of determining a biological relationship between an alleged father/mother and their child. Whilst in the past blood grouping analysis was used as a screening method, the relevance of this test has been greatly reduced as the level of accuracy of this type of test is low compared to the result of a DNA test. A DNA paternity test will provide 100% certainty of exclusion and 99.9%+ probability of inclusion.
2. Difference between an At-Home Paternity Test and a Legal Paternity Test
The difference between an At-Home Paternity Test (also called Curiosity Test) and a Legal Paternity Test is not the actual result but the way in which the sample collection is performed. For an At-Home Paternity test, a home dna kit is normally sent to the requesting party. The kit will normally include i) oral swabs to take the saliva sample, ii) documentation to provide relevant information including consent iii) instructions and terms and conditions of sale. The sample is taken by the parties themselves who are participating in the test. In a Legal DNA Paternity Test, the sample collection must follow a strict chain of custody procedure. All samples need to be collected and documented by a independent third party (normally a qualified general practitioner or nurse) who will be responsible to verify and authenticate the samples. The actual result of the paternity in terms of the biological relationship will not differ.
3. Always select a properly accredited laboratory
Always chose to do your paternity test through a company that uses an ISO17025 and/or AABB accredited laboratory. This will ensure the quality and accuracy of the results. Also make sure that when report the result a full DNA profile is provided for the 16 loci analysed, as well as the statistical probability of paternity. A simple Yes/No answer should not be deemed acceptable.
4. Paternity tests can be performed without the sample of the mother
To perform a DNA Paternity test the sample of the Mother is not necessary to obtain an accurate result. However, when available, it is always recommended that the sample of the Mother is also provided. Only in specific cases will the sample of the mother provide more accurate results such in the case of gene mutation. Many companies offer to test the mother at no extra charge.
5. DNA can be obtained from a diverse range of samples
It is possible to obtain DNA from a number of other sources such as hair, blood, semen and items such as cigarette butts and a toothbrush. Whilst the current standard is to use an oral swab to collect saliva samples, in cases where a person may not be physically present, able or willing to donate a sample, then alternate samples can be obtained.
Top writer Kevin Camilleri writes about dna paternity test. The author focuses on topics about dna paternity and dna testing. Additional resources and articles written by Kevin Camilleri related to dna paternity testing are accessible on the net.