Yahoo Lifestyle Paternity Testing
This week marked yet another deadline for Anna Nicole Smith to provide a DNA sample of her baby for paternity testing. She claimed her lawyer and current partner was the baby's biological father, but an ex-boyfriend was alleging his own paternity. With Anna Nicole's untimely death, the question of paternity testing of her baby may be put on hold, but I am sure it will rise again. A lot of money is at stake.
Paternal discrepancies, as they are called, affect between .8 and 30 percent of children, depending on marital status, socio-economics, parental age, and other factors. Paternity testing can be used in determinations of child support, custody, benefits (such as pensions and social security), and inheritance.
Paternity testing uses DNA to assess the odds that a man is the biological father of a child. DNA analysis from the child and alleged father are both needed, and a maternal sample may improve the accuracy of testing. Tests may use cells from inside the cheek, called buccal swabs, or blood. Sometimes the man being tested can be mathematically excluded from the possibility of paternity. If he is the father, the test will only say that it is likely -- with odds of 99% to 99.9999%.
Most experts recommend researching any company you might use for any sort of DNA testing. You can check if they are certified by the [www.aabb.org American Association of Blood Banks]. Be sure to ask what they do with the results: do they submit them to a central database or are they destroyed. If paternity testing is going to be admissible in court, the samples need to be handled within a chain of evidence, to avoid anyone tampering with the results. At-home testing couldn't be used for legal purposes. The testing company also must be approved by the state.
Most information on the Web is put out by companies that are trying to get your business. A reliable source of information about lab accreditation is the American Association of Blood Banks; the non-profit gene forum has some good unbiased information and will also answer questions.
