DNA paternity test ..Call 214-320-3302.. Uni-stat Medical Laboratories

Private paternity laboratories in the United States are accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). We cannot over-emphasize the importance of using a laboratory that is certified by the AABB. Accreditation with the AABB is important for two reasons:

Accreditation assures you that the test is performed by qualified staff and is done according to scientifically valid scientific practices. Note that at present, paternity testing laboratories are not required to obtain a license to perform paternity testing. Anyone can open a paternity laboratory and use any method they choose to perform tests. Accreditation is crucial to ensure that the test results will be accurate and reliable.

Laboratory accreditation may be required in order to allow the results of a paternity test to be admitted into evidence. Indeed, the trend is that an increasing number of courts require paternity tests to be performed by an accredited analysis service. Keep in mind that the most favorable test results in the world are of no use if they cannot be used in court. Depending upon the nature of your case, this could work for you or against you. If you intend to use a paternity test to your benefit, make certain that the court will accept the results of the test as valid.

DNA testing is still not widely understood by the general public, including judges and attorneys- the technology simply has not been around long enough for differences between the two methods of testing to have become general knowledge. This unfamiliarity can have disastrous consequences, as demonstrated in an excerpt from the 'Question & Answer' section of the December 19, 2000 issue of the Dads Divorce Weekly Newsletter:

Q: I had a paternity test done and it came back 99.99% probability. A friend of mind also had a paternity test done and his came back the same way. He went and had a blood test done and it came back 21.9%. Which one is more accurate. Is it possible that the people screwed up on my results. If so then where can I have a blood test done? I am in Knob Noster, Missouri.

A: In at least one case I was involved with a few years ago, a "buccal swab test" (saliva test) came back with a 99% probability of paternity, but a subsequent blood test showed that the child was not my client's. A blood test is more accurate than a buccal swab test. It is certainly possible that the test was screwed up, and generally if you ask the court for a blood test (not a buccal swab test) and offer to pay all the expenses for it, you can frequently convince the judge to allow it.

In this example it appears that the attorney is confusing the type of sample (blood or buccal swab) with the type of test (PCR or RFLP). Properly performed tests using either method should yield the same result regardless of whether blood or a buccal swab is used. Based on the information above, we would guess that a PCR test was done on the buccal swab, while the blood test was performed using RFLP. Remember that PCR is generally less discriminating than RFLP.

Many paternity testing laboratories guarantee their test results to an accuracy of 99.0%. Although this sounds extremely accurate, the fact is that it is not. A 99.0% "match" means that the test has identified a genetic pattern that is possessed, on average, by one in every one hundred men in the population. One out of one hundred is not sufficient to be certain of paternity, in our opinion. We strongly recommend using a laboratory that tests to a probability beyond 99.0%. The chances of receiving a false positive are 100 times greater if the test only shows a 99.0% probability of paternity compared to a 99.99% probability of paternity. A probability of 99.99% equates to one in ten thousand- sufficient for a reasonably certain determination of paternity. Unfortunately, at this time a limited number of laboratories test to levels beyond 99.0%

We would like to invite you to call Toll Free 1-877-217-4289 to discuss your needs with one of our professionals. Our physical address is within Dallas, Texas. Call for directions.