There are additional testing procedures that must be performed after DNA samples have been properly collected and submitted to a certified lab for paternity testing.

Whether for confirmation of paternity, maternity, genetic relationships, legal requirements or simply peace of mind, once the samples have been delivered to the testing facility, the actions performed and the results provided are beyond the control of the potential biological parents, relatives, lawyers and all government agencies.

This is EXACTLY how it should be so as to ensure that the samples have not been tampered with, the identities of those submitting the samples are confirmed and that there is no abuse or interference with how the DNA testing lab conducts the tests and the lab analysis provided.

Confirming DNA Samples and Preparation for Testing

It is not necessary for any one submitting to a DNA test to fully understand the procedures involved in preparation of the samples for testing. The information provided is provided for those wishing to comprehend how such lab testing is performed.

What is likely far more important is to establish a communication interface between the testing laboratory, legal representatives and the individuals requesting the DNA analysis. This is highly warranted in legal cases involving paternity identification, child custody issues and financial support concerns.

Laboratory Analysis Methods

Testing for paternity identity using a DNA test involves a series of processes and actions that begin with the individuals seeking confirmation about fatherhood, motherhood and perhaps also their genealogy or sibling relationships.

Before proceeding with any form of certified DNA testing, it is suggested to learn more about the nature of DNA and how it chemically defines relationships among family members and possibly those not previously considered to be so.

Understanding DNA and Family

Once a decision has been made to identify paternity with DNA, either by legal directive or voluntarily using a home DNA kit, the chosen laboratory for testing will require the collection of genetic sampling material from each of the individuals involved.

This is a simple and painless process involving swabbing the cells within the mouth and submitting them for DNA analysis. This procedure may be conducted by a professional on your behalf for a legal based paternity test or individually using a home testing kit.

Collecting DNA Samples

When voluntarily requesting or submitting to a legally directed DNA test for paternity or even using a home testing DNA kit, the actions required may be quite different.

This is considered as the initial part of the testing process and may vary greatly for each family or individual.

What is likely not different is what occurs after the results are submitted to a certified DNA testing laboratory for analysis.

There are certain common procedures and actions that virtually all test labs must follow.

Once DNA samples have been properly collected from the potential biological parents and delivered to the testing laboratory, a DNA profile must be generated corresponding to each of the individuals submitting a DNA sample.

After the genetic profiles are created, the next step required is to compare these profiles and determine the probability of a DNA match or the possibility of a non-match.

The laboratory will strive to determine to an accuracy approaching virtually 100 percent that the individuals are related or not. It is also important to note that the lab tests are performed twice in order to ensure that the analysis is completely replicatable and not suspect.

Generating DNA Profiles

Comparing DNA Profiles

Under the requirements of UK Data Protection laws, the service and results are confidential. All adult parties who have submitted a sample for analysis will receive a copy of the report.

Results are not passed on to any third parties unless you request us to do so. In order to further protect confidentiality we do not discuss results of tests over the telephone.

All samples are sent to our laboratories in specially designed tamper-evident packaging. Once testing is complete and you have received the results, your DNA sample is stored securely for 3 months after which time it is destroyed.

In paternity cases all identification paperwork is held by Cellmark for a period of one year after testing is complete after which time it is destroyed in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

As directed by Data Protection laws your information will not be passed onto anyone you have not given us authorisation to do so.

I know it’s impossible to get a false positive but what about a false negative result? I ask because a friend of mine had a DNA test done and it came back that he was not the father.

She swears that he’s the only one she was with. Could the lab have made a mistake?

Thanks in advance for any help.

How reliable are DNA paternity tests? We took then at an office, and from there they are being mailed to a lab.

Would that in any way affect the DNA?

This place called any lab test now is where my husband had the dna test done for the suspected child his ex was claiming was his after 4 years. It only took 48 hours to get the results.

I share kids with my husband and they look so much like him it isn’t even funny. This kid resembles nothing of him at all. The dna test came back like 97%. This is not a submissible test result for court.

I just have this feeling that this child is not his. So what I am trying to ask is 48 hours a little soon to get results and could this test been a spoof like one that you go to and yeah whoever shows is the father.

Has anyone had this happen or know someone its happened to?  How often does false results happen?

I’m going to go for paternity testing and considering that I only slept with one person, I know who the father is. But what if a drunk or stupid person is working at the lab when I and the father go for testing?

I took a legal DNA Paternity test about four years ago. The test was considered a legal DNA test that was not court ordered. I went to a laboratory, showed proof of identity and let the technician collect the DNA sample.

The results came back negative, excluding me as the father. Now the mother wants me to take it again. Can I be made to take another Paternity Test by the courts?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

My friend had a baby, now the dad is denying that he is the father. He wants to take a DNA test to prove he’s not the father, and they’ve decided to use the Identigene one from walgreens.

Has anyone here used it and got accurate results? If you did use it, was it even a good test?

A friend of mine took a DNA paternity test though the District attorneys office approved testing lab and the test came back that the father was not the father. She says she was a virgin when she got pregnant.

I have recently had a “non-invasive prenatal paternity test” but I am not entirely convinced that it is reliable.

At first I thought it would be ok but now I am not so sure, after reading up on the internet about it all I am just not entirely confident in the result.

I think my last period was the 12th july and when I went for a dating ultrasound scan (in october) they said I was 13 weeks 6 days which made conception around the 28th july giving me a due date of 19th april… that would tie in with my period date.

That was when I was with my new boyfriend. We wanted a DNA test because on the 19th july (before me and my current boyfriend got together), I was with someone else (my ex), so we wanted to be sure.

The “lab” says they do the test using maternal blood because there is fetal DNA that has passed through the placenta circulating in it, so I had my blood taken and sent it in along with a cheek swab from my boyfriend.

I was quite confident that the test would come back saying he is the father, but it hasn’t, and it doesn’t seem right, I have questioned the lab about the accuracy and they said if I send in a swab from the other alleged father they’d have a better picture to look at….. (this would also cost more money).

I asked another lab their opinion and they said they don’t offer the test because they dont think it is reliable, and I have read some reports on this kind of testing and since found out its not that good, I just wondered if anyone has any knowledge on this.

I have read that most labs won’t do it because there has been reports of inaccurate results, but the company I used are confident that their results are conclusive, but I’ve also noticed they are not AABB accredited. The labs that only offer amnio or cvs all are accredited.

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

I have been married for about four years and recently discovered by using a home paternity test that my year and a half old daughter is not actually mine. My wife confessed that she had been with another man at approximately the apparent time of conception.

We have decided to stay married, but I would like the alleged father to take a paternity test to validate this and make sure my daughter knows her real father. But the alleged individual will not take a DNA test willingly.

Can I have the courts decide paternity? And since we are still married, can he be forced to pay child support?

Thank you in advance for any help and advice.

I know someone who just got out of prison a year ago and the court system has told him they need a DNA test sample.

Where does he go to get this done?

Thank you in advance for any helpful advice.

Can I not just get some sort of equipment and mix it all up myself?

I found http://nature.ca/genome/05/051/pdfs/DNAextract_e.pdf but it only shows how to extract.

I looked on www.telltips.com (that site lunched a day age) and it’s not yet posted!

I need to know… any help would be great!