How does a paternity analysis work?
Human genetic material consists of DNA that is found in the majority of cells. Children inherit half of their inherited traits from their mother and half from their father. For that reason traits from both parents should be found in a child. For paternity tests this means that the traits that are not common to mother and child must come from the child's father. A man who lacks these traits cannot be the father of the child. If on the other hand these traits are found when a man is examined, the probability is very great that he is the father of the child. With a relationship test the inherited traits are analyzed with DNA technology in so-called markers, which are called microsatellites.
How reliable is the paternity analysis?
Our paternity analyses have, in those cases where the man is not ruled out, on average a probability of at least 99.99 % that the man in question is the father of the child.
Is the result of the paternity analysis legally valid?
Paternity analyses that have been witnessed by a third party are legally valid and may be used in a possible legal adjudication.
Must the mother assist in the paternity analysis?
We recommend that the mother assist in the paternity analysis, but many times it is possible to get a reliable result even without the mother's involvement.