What
are characteristics of an excellent DNA testing company or
laboratory?
The outcome of a Paternity DNA test can change your life!
Therefore the company you entrust with the DNA testing work,
must demonstrate some very high standards. This is often not
the case with companies you may find on the internet, that
offer very low-priced tests, but very little else in terms
of back-up. The information on this page will guide you in
making the right choice.
Here are the key features you should look for in a DNA testing
company/laboratory, before you commission any DNA analysis
work:
Accreditation - The laboratory that is
carrying out the DNA test must be accredited by the American
Association of Blood Banks (AABB). The AABB regularly inspects
and accredits paternity testing laboratories based on standards
adopted and agreed upon by the Parentage Committee.
Experience - The company must have a verifiable
track record of carrying out Paternity DNA test to court evidential
standards. Some companies sub-contract their testing to University
laboratories, and have no testing facilities of their own.
These companies should be avoided, as there is very little
in the way of accountability should you have problems with
the end results, on any testing you commission. Furthermore
it is important to establish how long a company has been carrying
out DNA testing, and not be satisfied by the fact that the
laboratory has been around for a long time.
The level of experience of the staff, will sometimes be critical
in evaluating and understanding the outcome of a complicated
DNA test result. It is therefore important to look for a laboratory
that has experienced scientist (M.D or Ph.D) in the fields
of molecular biology, biotechnology, or human genetics.
Laboratory vs. Brokers - Many of the online
testing services, are in fact brokers, or middlemen who sell
the services of another laboratory to make money. They are
simply in the DNA testing market to make as much money as
they can. Brokers are not accredited by any organization,
and often neither are the lab's that they use.
Brokers are generally easy to spot on the internet, by the
fact that they often use a PO Box address as opposed to a
'real' address. Companies without a full physical address
should be scrutinized very carefully before you consider them,
to undertake any work for you. My advice would be to avoid
them altogether and to go for a reliable, company with a track-record.
You can find one by clicking
here.
Quality and Presentation of results- The
outcome of DNA testing can sometimes be difficult to interpret,
and you want to ensure that the results that you get back
are clear and unambiguous. DNA laboratories often have differing
standards for what they term 'conclusive results'. You should
look for a laboratory that will state 100% exclusions when
a alleged father can not be related to a child, and upwards
of 99.99% when the converse is true.
Many laboratories only provide a 99.0% inclusion when an
alleged father could be the real biological father of a child.
Although this figure looks impressive at first glance, it
is the same as saying the alleged father is among 1 out of
every 100 men in the population. This is hardly conclusive
and would not be acceptable to any court in the country. Look
for a laboratory that will deliver at least 99.99% inclusion.
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