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Paternity Testing and Father’s Day

by HOMEDNA on 06/16/2011

Paternity tests have become easy and affordable, and with father’s day fast approaching there are paternity questions being asked and answered through paternity test results.

Paternity Test for Father’s Day?

Father’s day has become a busy time in the world of paternity testing. These days, with answers within reach, a paternity test is not longer something people just talk about, but do. The AABB annual reports showed that paternity testing has increased 400% since its modest beginnings. This means more and more fathers want to know if they are in fact the biological father’s of the children they are raising. Many mothers-and children too-want to know who the biological father is. They want to know for many reasons such as health history or just knowing where they came from. A paternity test offers answers and peace of mind.

Paternity Testing Can Help Answer Paternity Questions

If there is ever a question of paternity, we invite you to pick up the IDENTIGENE Paternity Test Kit at your local retailer.. It’s an easy process and we have a dedicated team of professionals here to assist you through the process and to answer all of your paternity test questions. We are happy to help you with answers to questions only DNA can answer.

He’s Not the Biological Father? Why are there Matches in the Paternity Test?

by HOMEDNA on 01/31/2011

After DNA samples arrive at the laboratory, IDENTIGENE paternity test results are released in two business days. And they may not always be what are expected!

Sometimes when results of DNA testing show 0% probability, meaning the alleged father is not the biological father, there are some loci (or markers) in the report that do match between the alleged father and child. Participants may not understand why this occurs in DNA testing if the two participants aren’t related, so here’s a quick overview of how this happens.

Basics of a DNA Paternity Test

In paternity testing we generate DNA profiles using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) process. PCR is the process of taking a small piece of DNA and making many enlarged copies so it can be measured for a paternity test. In the DNA profile analysts look at 15 specific loci or markers (location on the DNA chromosome for a gene) which are then reported on the DNA test results. The profiles are compared for all participants to determine if the alleged father and child match at all 15 markers or locations. Because the child gets 50% of its DNA from the biological father and %50 from the mother, there must be a match at all loci for the alleged father to be considered the biological father. If there are any mismatches, then the alleged father will be excluded, even if there are a few matches.

Loci Matches on Paternity Tests

A few positive matches can happen in DNA paternity testing because there are specific markers that are common among the population. When you look at the profiles on a paternity test, and there are some matches, this does not necessarily mean the participants are related. Each matching loci between the alleged father and child is calculated into a paternity index which measures the strength of a genetic match. This indicates how common that marker is in the population. Sometimes markers are very common so people that are not related may match at certain locations.

As stated above, in order to be a biological parent there must be a match at each location (with the rare exception of one mutation, which is a change in a gene passed from parent to child). If a possible mutation is identified, additional markers will be tested.

This is why you may have some locations that match on a paternity test but paternity test results nevertheless indicate the alleged father is not the biological father.

Grandmother Denied DNA Paternity Test for Grandson

by HOMEDNA on 01/17/2011

A paternity test can confirm paternity results. But what about if the alleged father is deceased and the needed DNA for paternity testing won’t be released? What if there is no one else available on the alleged father’s side of the family to participate in DNA testing with the child?

Paternity testing can help one family with much-needed proof

For one family in Maine, a paternity test could answer a question that can better their way of life. Fosters.com reports on one woman’s struggle to get what she feels is her grandson’s birthright through paternity testing. Pam Caccialini gained custody of her two grandchildren in November of 2008 when her daughter was unable to care for them. The brothers are half siblings with different biological fathers. The youngest child, Mason, is two years old and doesn’t know his biological father. Mason’s mother claims his biological father is U.S. Army Spc. William M. Smith who passed away at the age of 27 on January 9, 2009 while on active duty.

A fight for DNA paternity testing

Both Pam and her husband are taking care of the two children and are having a hard time making ends meet. She feels death benefits can assist to ease the burden and help pay for Mason’s college. Pam has gone to many sources to try to gain death and medical benefits for Mason, but with no success. Before any benefits can be released to Mason, she needs paternity results to be established . She has petitioned for a paternity test using a blood card with the alleged father’s DNA that is kept by the military . The blood card cannot be used for paternity testing without authorization from the next of kin. Claims have been made that the next of kin is William M. Smith’s mother, Linda Everette. But Pam says the child’s alleged grandmother will not authorize the blood cards be released. Linda Everette claims she has not been contacted by any of the agencies Pam is working with.

With the alleged father being deceased and no other relatives to participate in a DNA test, Pam Caccialini is at a dead end, but continues to fight for what she feels is her grandson’s birthright. Read more about her story on fosters.com.

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