Paternity Testing Facts
A family can find out very quickly if there is a biological relationship between a child and an alleged father with a paternity test. Nowadays, paternity testing is used to decide custody cases, establish legitimate child support cases, influence adoption proceedings, and to aid in claiming inheritance by providing proof of relationship.
Generally, a paternity test is conducted through a comprehensive DNA testing and analysis of different enzymes, proteins, and HLA antigens. Paternity testing has three test options available: prenatal testing, viability test, or in-home testing.
In prenatal paternity testing, a physician or gynecologist needs to be involved to do an amniocentesis or CVS (chronic villi sampling) in order to collect a sample for testing. If you choose prenatal paternity testing you should discuss this with your doctor to make sure that it is the best thing for you and the baby and that you are in no way endangering the child.
In cases where the father is missing, a viability test can help determine the paternity. The viability test involves testing material like preserved samples of hair or other body tissues.
Paternity testing can now be conducted from the privacy of your own home. In this test, the DNA is collected using the buccal swab, which resembles to the common cotton-tipped swab but has a special component known as the “Dacron.” The swab is then rubbed against the interior of the individual’s cheek, several loose cheek cells stick to the swab. The DNA collected will be brought to the laboratory for some series of tests. It is very important that the DNA samples must be in sealed and tamper-evident packing.
A paternity test can be conducted for either personal or legal purposes. For personal paternity tests, the people involved can do the collection of samples themselves and simply send the DNA samples to the paternity test lab for processing. On the other hand, legal paternity tests require a detailed documentation to be admissible in court.
There are only two possible outcomes after taking a paternity test. If the man’s DNA types do not match the child’s DNA, then he is excluded as the biological father. However, if the DNA types match, then the man is not excluded as the father.
Being identified as the father of a child can have serious and long lasting effects on the life of a man. So, it is important to weigh all of the potential outcomes of paternity testing before you decide to have it conducted. You can purchase a paternity testing kit online delivered safely and securely right to your front door for privacy.