Know About DNA Paternity Testing and the Procedure Followed in it

Legal Dna Test

Paternity Testing

It is not every day that the paternity of a child is questioned. In these cases the paternity of the offspring needs to be ascertained through legal dna testing. Now-a-days lots of DNA testing methods and testing labs have come into existence. These tests are now being used for legal, medical and forensic purposes. Let us now understand the various steps involved in the underlying process of DNA paternity testing.

1. Sample Collection

Most of the companies use the simple buccal swabs for collecting the samples. This is a simple and painless paternity testing process, which uses the logic that DNA is present in every cell of the body. The swab needs to be just swiped inside the tester’s mouth, to collect the saliva.

2. Process in the Laboratory

DNA samples, which include cheek cell containing swabs of both father and child, are essential for the laboratory testing. There are even self testing kits available which allow you to collect the sample privately in your home. Samples from mother can also be tested, if she is enthusiastic and capable of providing one. The tests from father-child or father-mother-child will both be irrefutably same. The samples must reach the lab without any contamination or tampering.

3. Procedure of DNA testing

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method is mostly used for DNA paternity testing. In this procedure the Legal DNA test is first segregated from the rest of the cell matter and precise locations (loci) of the DNA sample are then studied. Due to the existence of two sets of chromosomes, each locus value of the child has two readings, one matching with the birth mother and another with the birth father.
If Mother= (1,2) and Father=(3,4), then child can be (1,3)(1,4)(2,3) or (2,4)

4. Calculation of Paternity Index

For each match the paternity index is established. This is the measure of the frequency in which that particular loci match occurs in a particular race and the probability of that subject being the biological parent based upon that locus. Clearly one locus is insufficient to provide conclusive results. So, companies that perform multiple loci tests are preferable, along with the 13 CODIS loci.

5. Probability Percentage of the Paternity Index

Each locus has a unique paternity index. After getting all the loci matches, they are combined to get a percentage of probability for the subject’s paternity. For instance, if one locus of the test subject does not match the child’s, then the index value for that locus would be zero (0). In a non-match, further sample analysis may be needed. 1-2 non-matches may need further testing of up to 25 pointer study. More than three non-matches will be concluded to be negative, meaning that the tested person is not the biological parent of the child.

Finally, select a company which can give upto 99.99% probability of paternity index. Most of the companies promise it, but provide only upto 99%, leaving a chance of 1% out. So, for conclusive proof of paternity, the 99.99% is the best choice. The tested person is 99.999% more likely to be the father of the child as compared to any other man in the tested race population.

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