Gendia Paternity

FAQ

1. What Types of Paternity Tests does GENDIA offer?

GENDIA offers two types of Paternity Tests:

The Curiosity (or Personal) paternity test is a test that allows the individuals involved to collect their own samples at home with GENDIA’ s at home kit without the need to engage a third party. The curiosity Paternity Test is designed for clients who do not intend to use the results for legal purposes.
The Legal (or Official) paternity test requires involvement of a third party, generally a legal or medical professional or a Court-appointed individual. Sample collection is performed according to a legally endorsed procedure. Legal Courts require a special procedure to be followed for a Paternity Test, including documentation of chain of custody and proof of identity of all parties concerned. The Official Paternity Test is designed for this purpose and should be used when there is a good possibility that the test results may eventually be used in a legal context.

There is no difference in the laboratory method employed for the two types of Paternity Tests or in the accuracy and reliability of the results obtained. The differences lie in the procedure followed to collect the samples and the method of reporting.

2. How does a Paternity Test work?

Genetic testing identifies the unique genetic profile of an individual. The genetic profile of a child is inherited partly from the father and partly from the mother. By comparing the child’s genetic profile with that of the alleged father, a Paternity Test determines whether this person is the real biological father.

3. What can a Paternity Test be used for?

Paternity Tests examine the relationship between parent and child.
They may be used:

to resolve cases of uncertain paternity, for example:
- to assist a man in a custody or visitation dispute
- to assist a woman seeking child support from a man who denies he is the child’s biological father
- for peace of mind when a man wants to confirm that a child is his own
to determine maternity in cases of child abduction or abandonment
to confirm an adopted child’s biological family
to confirm parentage of children conceived through alternative reproduction technologies such as in vitro fertilization
to confirm relationships between reunited brothers or sisters
to determine parentage or grand-parentage for insurance or inheritance rights claims
to prove kinship to a citizen for immigration purposes
to assist legal professionals in resolving relationship disputes without unnecessary Court proceedings.

4. What is the procedure to get a Paternity Test done?

If you want a curiosity test GENDIA supplies a At Home Kit upon demand. This kit employs a simple and painless procedure, to collect samples in the privacy of your home. The collected specimens are deposited in specially supplied packets that may be mailed to GENDIA. The at home kit can only be used for curiosity tests, and not for legal tests.
Alternatively, GENDIA also accepts blood samples for the curiosity test.

If you want a legal test you can contact GENDIA for instructions to obtain a test.

Samples must be accompanied by the appropriate GENDIA Submission Form, which is provided with the collection kits or may be downloaded from this web site.

5. Whose samples are required for a Paternity Test?

Usually the test is performed using samples from the alleged father, the child and the mother. However a Paternity Test can still be performed reliably when a sample from the mother is not available.

6. How are samples for a Paternity Test obtained?

GENDIA accepts both mouth swabs and blood samples for paternity testing. The source of the DNA sample does not affect the accuracy and reliability of the Paternity Test, since an individual’s DNA is the same throughout the body.

Mouth swabs: GENDIA supplies sample collection kits for mouth swabs on demand. Please fill in our on-line Kit Request Form or contact us, and we will send you a sampling kit. The procedure for collecting the samples is simple and painless, and can be performed easily by following the step-by-step instructions provided. When using these kits it is important to make sure that enough samples are collected. Since collection of these samples is so easy, we recommend sending samples in duplicate to ensure an adequate amount.

Blood: GENDIA requires at least 1 EDTA tube (5 ml) of whole blood per donor. The assistance of a medical professional is required to obtain blood samples. The tubes may be stored at room temperature or refrigerated, but the blood must NOT be frozen.

The method adopted for sample collection may effect whether the result can be used in a Court of Law or not. For legal cases, it is recommended that individuals contact an authorized medical or legal professional to assist in the procurement of a Paternity Test and provide legal advice.

Samples must be accompanied by the appropriate GENDIA Submission Form, which is provided with the collection kits or may be downloaded from this web site.

7. How accurate is the Paternity Test?

GENDIA’s paternity test is extremely powerful in answering questions of parentage. Since we use 16 different genetic markers to build the genetic profile, our test is 100 times more accurate than that required in Court. The results guarantee minimum probabilities in excess of 99.99%.
The GENDIA laboratory received the highest European quality control accreditation ISO 17025 for its paternity tests.

8. What identity tests does GENDIA offer?

Apart from paternity tests GENDIA also offers:

Maternity test
Twin Test
Relationship Test
Identity Profiling
DNA Banking

More information on those tests is available in the section:
What Sort of Tests are Available?

9. How long does it take to get the results of a Test?

Once GENDIA receives the samples, results are available within 3 weeks.

10. Who receives the results of a test?

Only the person(s) indicated by you on the GENDIA Submission Form receives the results.

11. What is the price of the tests?

The prices of the different tests are indicated in the section Prices and Payment.