Working for a company that does paternity testing, you can imagine the sensational shows that spotlight paternity tests often come up. We have all seen those episodes where they bring a woman on stage and she is absolutely sure that one of two men is the father of her child. When the results are revealed that neither is the father, the men begin to dance, the woman begins to cry and the crowd cheers as if they were at the circus.
At first, there is the tendency by many people to join the mob and participate in the amusement of the whole scene. But when we take a second and step back and look at the situation as a whole, we realize that these are peoples’ lives that we are talking about and that the results of the test are so much more than a cheap way to entertain a crowd.
Over the years, I have witnessed a lot of stories about people using paternity testing, sibling testing and other forms of DNA testing to find out who they are and who they are or are not related to. Entertaining a crowd is not usually on the list of reasons why someone wants to take a test.
Most often, the reasons for getting the test revolve around target peace of mind and knowing the truth. And the interesting thing about knowing the truth is that it helps people make decisions. Once they have the facts, people are able to make a decision that affects the rest of their lives. That decision may be to connect with the father they never knew, to meet the siblings they didn’t know they had, to continue school now that they know the baby isn’t theirs, or to continue paying child support even after finding out they are NOT the biological father because they care about the child.
Knowing the truth always seems to make those decisions easier.
jacqueline jones says
my daughter recently went to a testing company with this man that claims to b her father.i know with a douth in my mind that he is not the father i had not been with this man for nearly a year when i got pregeant with this child. now here we are 30 years later and they “my daughter and this man goes to some place and get tested and it comes back 999.99% he is the father. unless a sperm can hang around for over 10 months in a womans body it is impossible for him to be her father!! is there any other way to prove to my daughter that i have not been lying to her for 30 years, a blood test or something!! help me please.
desprate in little rock
Ask Kate says
Do you know what laboratory this testing was performed through? Have you seen a copy of the DNA results? Without seeing them myself it would be difficult to speculate as to what happened in your case. I would recommend a Legal DNA Paternity Test as this will require that all samples are collected by a neutral third party. You can find more information about Legal DNA Testing on the Identigene website at: http://www.dnatesting.com/dna-paternity-testing/legal-paternity-test.php.
Ryan says
I agree with Kate – you should try your best to find out which laboratory performed the testing. Not all labs are created equal. It sounds like you do not trust the original test results. If this is the case, then ask the father and your daughter to get retested, and include your sample. Like Kate said, try to obtain a Legal DNA Paternity Test. If the father or daughter does not agree, then you may want to consider a Discreet Paternity Test. This type of test will require you to gather DNA samples on your own. Many DNA labs offer this service, so you can visit any of their websites for more information. Good luck.
jake says
I have had two DNA tests which confirm that i am my daughter’s father (99.99%).
I am still not convinced. Is it possible that both internet-based companies made up the results?
Is there a history of cowboy DNA testers on the internet?
Thanks.
Ask Kate says
Jake, I am not aware of any companies that are making up DNA test results. My recommendation would be to check with the AABB to see if the lab that you used is accredited by them. This means that there labs experience an annual audit regarding their Legal DNA Paternity Testing. Even though your testing may be personal this accreditation is generally a good indicator you are working with a trustworthy and reliable lab. I hope that this will be helpful.
Grant Davis says
Why not just call Maury?
DNA_Paternity says
I would never use or trust an internet based company to do a paternity test. Beware of scammers because they are everywhere. The only way to know that you are getting accurate results is the legal dna paternity test. With this test, every party will have to show an ID, have a picture taken of them at the time of the test and get finger printed. There are many more precations to insure that the person taking the test is who they say they are when you get a legal paternity test. It is more expensive, but it is probably worth it. Good luck to all!
Ask Kate says
When purchasing over the internet, Buyer Beware is always good advice to follow. That said, accurate results ARE available without a legal test. You are right, a legal test does verify the identities of the participants, but only difference between a legal test and a home paternity test is in the collection of the DNA samples. The process at the lab is exactly the same.
Now, if both parties don’t trust each other, or if there is a question whether or not the correct people will be swabbed, then yes, witnessed collection is a good idea. As long as there is no fraud by the test participants, a home and legal test will have the SAME result.
More important than legal vs. personal paternity test is the lab’s certification. To avoid the scammers, make sure that the lab performing the paternity test is certified with an agency such as the AABB. Also, keep in mind, lots of companies don’t have their own lab, but send your DNA samples out to another lab to be tested. Personally, I would feel more comfortable trusting a paternity testing company with their own lab to do the work.
Katie says
Im married….have been for nearly 4 yrs. my husband has been the only father my daughter has known…..If I test the other man in a dna test……does his id have to be given and what legal rights would he have if its proved he fathered her? I have never been married to him and my daughter doesnt have his name and he is no where on the birth certificate? Can you help me? Does the other man have the right to know the results?
Ask Kate says
Hi Katie,
If you use one of IDENTIGENE’s Home Paternity Test kits (the kind you can buy at the pharmacy) the other man does not have to provide identification. He would have to provide his name and contact information, as well as sign that he gives us consent to test his DNA.
Because it is his DNA we are testing, yes, we will give him the results of the test, if he wishes.
As far as his legal rights, I would consult and attorney, but in most places the man listed on the birth certificate is considered the father. I believe the other man would still have to petition the court for parental rights, even if the DNA test shows he is the biological father. For DNA Paternity Test Results to be admissible in court, the DNA samples would have to be collected by a third party, and the other man would have to provide identification for court admissible results.
Read more about the difference between Home Paternity Tests and Legal DNA Paternity Tests
Hopefully this answers your question. If you would like to know more please give one of our test consultants a call (800-404-GENE). They will be able to advise you on your particular situation.
Benton Flato says
Hello,Superb blogging dude! i am just Fed up with using RSS feeds and do you use twitter?so i can follow you there:D.
PS:Do you considered putting video to this blog posts to keep the people more entertained?I think it works., Benton Flato
Kate says
You can follow me on twitter at @askkate!
I’ll be adding some RSS feed stuff shortly, thanks for the reminder.
I’ve thought of video. What would you like to see?
Julie says
I have received DNA results regarding my son. The only man that he has known as dad had a 0% probability of being his father. i dont believe the results we all took the test but at different times. My son looks just like his father on the results he had no markers that match the alleged father how is this possible? I just think he pulled something when he took his test he is too calm and collected
Kate says
It’s unfortunate, but possible, when using a home DNA paternity test, to have one of the participants switch the samples, or get a sample from someone other than them selves. This is especially true, when the samples are collected at separate times.
Looks aren’t really a good indicator of paternity, but if you are certain that the man being testing IS the biological father, then I would suggest retesting. Make sure that you are present when he collects the samples, and that YOU are the one that mails the samples to the lab. An even better option is to do a Legal Paternity test. This is the same test as a home paternity test, but because the samples are collected and handled by an independent third-party, all test participants can be confident that the samples where not tampered with in any way.
Legal DNA Paternity Test
Arvilla Guilbeaux says
Uh, where’s the shiftiness and hard-to-pin down communication here?
Danielle says
My husband & I want to do a DNA test without the mother knowing. Does her DNA have to be included for accurate results? Thank-you.
Amber says
Hi Danielle,
Conclusive results can be reported with out the biological mother, however, you must be aware that there is a small chance that conclusive results may not be possible without her. What we do if we can not get a conclusive answer without her, we do contact the customer and ask them to get her profile at that time. If they can not, it will be reported as inconclusive. However, this is rare.
Clarise says
i recently got a legal dna paternity test for my son and his alleged father. i went with them but i was not aware i should be tested and i wasnt. could that affect the results?
Amber says
Hi Clarise,
Not necessarily. If the laboratory completing the paternity test is unable to obtain a definitive answer without your DNA sample they may contact you for your sample if it is needed. Including the Mother can help with the test, however, if you do not participate the laboratory may still get a strong answer without your sample.
meesha says
Me and my boyfriend took a paternity test and results say that he is not the father but i am certain that he is in fact the father of my child and yes our results were sent to a AABB lab but do you think we should try a different lab .? could the strength of the dna been weakend if we ate abt 25 to 20 minutes before testing .? because even on some of the markers him and my son did share a number match up but still no percentage were detected.
Kendra says
Hello, daughter and I just had a DNA test done with her alleged father and the test came back as him not being the father. We had the test done through Lab Pro and everything seemed to be done okay when we showed up except I received a call three weeks later saying they had the wrong last name of my child on her sample. I asked them if we should retest and they said this would not make a difference in the result. Her father and I were both sure that he was her father. She looks just like him, his mother, and his family but the test said he was not. Some of his genetic markers did match her’s and mine but not all of them so they ruled him out. They also did not include the PI marker on either test. Could this test be faulty or even wrong because there is no way anyone else could be her dad, we were both shocked by the results.
Amber says
Hello Kendra,
The lab is correct, the name on the report would not in any way affect the DNA results. In order for him to be the biological father of the child he does have to match each location. There may be some matches, but this does not indicate a biological relationship. It simply means those specific markers can be common in the population. You and I could test and have matches, it does not mean we are related, only that the markers are common. Again, to be a biological match they must match at each location. If you are still unsure I would recommend another test, however, as long as the same DNA is submitted from the same participants, the results would be the same.
Sarah says
We are trying to do a DNA test in Louisiana for my BF and his daughter in Indiana. Is there a way to do this without the samples losing “potency” or a place they can both go to to do the testing? Afraid buying a kit in Louisiana for him to do his swab, mailing it to Indiana for her swab, and then her mailing it to the company would mess everything up.
Thank you!
HomeDNA Identigene says
Hi, Sara. We can arrange to send testing materials to different places for at-home testing, or we can make appointments for you at approved DNA-collection facilities where your BF and his daughter live. Please call or have your BF call us directly at 800-681-7162 (M-F, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Eastern).