DNA Testing FAQs

Paternity is the Testing process used to prove or disprove the paternity relationship.

Maternity is the relationship between a child and their biological Mother.

Maternity Test is the Testing process used to prove or disprove the Maternity relationship. This test is sometimes used in Immigration cases, in cases where a child was accidentially separated at birth in a hospital, or even abduction/reunite cases.

Samples are most often collected by swabbing the inside of you cheek (mouth swab) with a Q-Tip like device. This is referred to as a buccal swab (the buccal cells inside the mouth (cheek area) are highly concentrated with DNA). In the realm of DNA testing , there is no difference between DNA from cheek cells and DNA from blood. DNA samples used for Forensic purposes may be obtained in other ways and require additional processing.

The Alleged Father is a male who is thought to be the biological father of a child. However it has not yet been proven with a paternity test.

Whenever possible it is always a good idea to include the mother’s sample, because a child receives half their DNA from their mother, and half from their father. By Not having the knowledge or ability to remove the mother’s DNA from the equation, there is an increased possibility that an exclusion may occur (single or double). Without the Mother’s sample, the test must be rerun with additional testing systems, thus extending the time needed to achieve the highest quality Paternity Results. However, the testing can still be performed and accurate results achieved without a sample from the mother.

If the alleged fathers are related as brothers, father/son, or uncle/nephew, or if the alleged father is related to the child’s mother, then all related alleged fathers must be tested at the same time and a sample from the mother should be included. This information must be disclosed at the time of purchase to reduce the possibility of implicating the wrong person. If the alleged fathers are identical twins, there is no way to determine which twin is the father of the child.

A Legal Paternity test is conclusive, legally a binding test that uses DNA to determine if a man is the biological father of the child. The primary difference between a Legal Paternity test and a private paternity test is the documentation process used. A proper chain of custody must established and used in the collection process in order for results to be considered legally admissible by the court.