Whether using a home DNA paternity testing kit or deciding to use a DNA test lab for determining child parenthood, there are important differences that you should understand before pursuing either option.

Obviously, a DNA home test is very likely to cost less, but does it provide the results required when compared to using a DNA lab testing facility in determining the parenthood of a child?

There are several advantages and disadvantages to either which you must be aware of before making a final decision.

Certainly, paternity implies fatherhood and this can be established by an accredited testing laboratory using proper DNA genetic testing methods.

Any DNA paternity test must be performed to the legal standards set forth by authorized government regulations.

The results virtually ensure that the assumed father is also the biological father of a child.

Paternity is effectively disproved when the identical methods and standards employed demonstrate that a proposed father can not actually be the true biological father and with an extremely high degree of accuracy.

Lab or Home DNA Test Kit?

In prior years, DNA testing required using a laboratory presence; however, there are now various types of DNA tests presented for home use.

These DNA test kits are available either via online shopping or even direct from your favourite pharmacy. The cost for these home DNA tests can vary, depending on your preferences.

So what’s the difference? Either you buy a DNA testing kit or you engage the services of a reputable laboratory that is certified to perform DNA testing.

If you purchase a paternity testing kit, you are provided with tools for collecting and marking the DNA samples. Afterwards, you submit the results to the testing lab for verification.

Some weeks later, you receive the results that confirm or disprove the parenthood of the child.

If you buy a home kit for DNA testing, submit the results to the designated lab, you will almost certainly discover and confirm the nature of the parental relationship.

But, what you will NOT be able to do is submit these results in any court of law. This is the problem with home paternity DNA test kits.

If you only need to know if you are genetically related to the child in question, then this is your low cost and perhaps best option to pursue.

If perhaps there are child custody issues and substantial financial issues at stakes, it is likely better to adopt a strategy that is bullet-proof with respect to confirming genetic identity and paternity.

This implies that you should consider using a certified DNA paternity testing lab and forgo the home testing kits.

By recognizing the importance of all aspects with respect to collecting DNA samples, delivering them properly, analyzing them and providing certified results, you are likely to receive guaranteed proof in almost all courts of law.

It may cost somewhat more, but the results may definitely be worth it in the long run.

Free DNA Testing Kits

With a minimum of research, you can most likely find a free DNA test online or otherwise.  Most home DNA test kits are essentially the same and easy to use.

A basic and easy to use DNA paternity test kit can cost roughly $200.00.  A low-cost DNA test kit like this is often used for proving paternity to an unbelieving father or perhaps for family members who are only looking for basic confirmation and some peace of mind.

Other in-home DNA tests can include testing for perhaps the mother, assumed father, and obviously the child in question.  It is not necessary that the mother be tested but this is recommended if her DNA samples are available.

DNA paternity testing is effectively so powerful that tests can be conducted even when no mother is available.

There are no age limits with respect to DNA paternity testing.  In the past, it was the case that only newborns over the age of six months could be tested.

But this is definitely no longer the case and it is usually only necessary to extract some umbilical cord blood at birth or use swabs to collect from the cheek cells of an infant.

A DNA paternity test is most likely the most accurate manner of paternity testing possible. If the DNA patterns between the child and the presumed father do not match with respect to two or more DNA probes, then it is virtually without a doubt that the alleged father is 100% excluded and therefore cannot possibly be the biological father of the child.

What to Consider Before having a Paternity Test

Here is a quick video about the proper way to capture DNA samples when using a home DNA testing kit. Regardless of which kit you purchase, certain procedures must be followed to avoid contaminating the DNA sample with that of others, especially when taking swabs from a child’s mouth. This may save future grief in having to resubmit samples that were not properly taken initially.

This video is courtesy of www.assuredna.co.uk, which supplies a reliable home testing kit that is available at larger Boots stores, independant pharmacies online and on the high street. The assuredna test kit is easy to use, safe and with the accuracy of results typically in excess of 99.99%, you and your family can be sure of peace of mind from one of the most trusted names in DNA testing.

To know who is the father of your baby, paternity tests are the most accurate method. Identify the father of your baby with tips from a gynecologist and obstetrician in this free video on pregnancy.

Expert: Dr. Jill Hechtman MD OB/GYN Contact: www.ob-gyn.com Bio: Dr. Jill Hechtman, MD is an Ob/Gyn and vice president of Tampa Obstetrics. Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz

Andrew Faucett on unintended consequences of genetic testing, including discoveries of “non-paternity” or parents-to-be receiving “too much” information via prenatal testing.

Faucett spoke at the the 2009 Predictive Health Symposum held at Emory University Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Related Links “Emory/Georgia Tech Predictive Health Symposium” Press Kit whsc.emory.edu “Predictive Health Symposium Links Biology, Behavior and the Environment” Press Release, 11/12/09 shared.web.emory.edu Emory/Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute www.predictivehealth.emory.edu

800DNAEXAM.com of BioSynthesis Inc, is a leading provider of paternity tests and many other familial relationship DNA testing services. We provide private and legal DNA tests and other familial relationship DNA analyzes.

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.

Hi, me and my girlfriend are trying to figure out if I’m the father of her baby. Her doctor would not do the amnio and we researched online and apparently many labs now offer non-invasive prenatal paternity testing.

We called and set up everything with a company called DNA Plus and she’s supposed to go get her blood taken at the hospital today. The guy on the phone told us not to mention anything about paternity testing to the hospital.

Doesn’t that seem kind of shady? Me and her are scared because of the reliability of this now. The website claims basically 100% accuracy and they are BBB accredited.

Here is a link to the page by the way: http://www.dnaplus.com/fetal_cell_prenat…

Also, we have to ship the blood aand DNA samles ourselves using FedEx.

I called them back (btw, its ALWAYS the same guy that answers the phone and its 24/7) and asked them why we can’t mention anything and he said “its none of the hospital’s business. and hospitals don’t like doing anything paternity related because it can end up leading to an abortion, and all the paperwork says we’re doing bloodtesting which that is what we’re doing.”

Waiting till the baby is born is not an option. We’re both going through emotional turmoil and need an answer. Nobody in the family even knows she’s pregnant due to the embarrassing circumstances.

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 would like to know what paternity testing involves, how long the results take to find out, and the approximate cost.

I asked this question in the pregnancy section and got little joy. What I want to know is could a DNA paternity test result by buccal swab be wrong if done in a reputable lab?

I have heard of things such as contamination and DNA mutation of the father between conception and test date (18 months on).

The sample has been in the lab over a month now awaiting the other sample to be tested. It says not to eat or smoke before, what impact could this have and is human error more common than they lead us to believe or do they even know 99.99% if they are correct?

Interested to know anybodys opinions please who is in the know.