DNA Paternity Testing Methods
Choosing the best method
DNA paternity testing can usually be done anytime from prenatal to postmortem. There are several methods for testing and your choice will depend upon the following:
·Is the child prenatal?
·Postnatal?
·Newborn?
·Is the father deceased?
The most common methods for DNA paternity testing are done postnatal (after the child is born). DNA Paternity testing methods include:
·Non-invasive
·Chorionic villus sampling
·Amniocentesis
·Newborn - Umbilical Cord/Blood tests
·Buccal Swabs
·Post Mortem
For the greatest accuracy in DNA paternity testing, it is best to test after the child is born. A laboratory will ask for a trio sample (tissues from mother, alleged father and child); however, if a trio-sample is unavailable, other testing methods are used.
Postnatal DNA paternity testing is still the safest procedure to use. The method of collecting tissue samples is simple and virtually painless: usually done by taking a tissue sample from the cheek using a q-tip swab.
The most important factor is that there is no risk involved with postnatal DNA paternity testing. The long and short-term well being of both the child and mother are not jeopardized.
Prenatal DNA testing involves:
- A risk to mother and baby, including miscarriage
- A procedure that is usually painful
- Increased risk of side effects such as infection and fever
- Less accuracy than postnatal testing
- A higher cost because of the extra medical fees necessary to extract a prenatal tissue sample.
There may be occasion to prove paternity after the father is deceased. There have been legal issues surrounding questions of inheritance. The biological relationship between the children and an alleged father might come into doubt, making it necessary to prove paternity. There are laboratories that specialize in post-mortem DNA paternity testing and are able to profile the DNA of paternal relatives to reconstruct a biological relationship between the alleged father and children.
