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How Do I Do a Home Paternity Test?
Deciding that you need to get a home paternity test done is the hard bit. Actually doing a home paternity test is very simple. If you don’t need the test for any legal reason such as child support and custody and just want to know for your own information, you can go online to order a home test kit. We recommend that you use a lab like DNA Diagnostics Centre (DDC) that is accredited to ISO 17025, has a good reputation, and maintains a proven track record in the home-paternity business.
How Does a Home Paternity Test Kit Work?
All kits are slightly different depending on the equipment used by the lab during the DNA extraction process.
Cheek swabs: Most labs use some type of sterile cheek swab (called a buccal swab) to harvest the loose cells from the inside of the cheeks. Some are made of a soft fibre on the end of a stick. They look similar to cotton wool buds but are actually made of a special synthetic fibre called Dacron. These swabs are very good at gently capturing a huge number of cells effortlessly and comfortably.
Cheek brushes: Some labs use a small brush instead but this can be quite abrasive and a little uncomfortable, particularly for children.
All kits contain a receptacle for the swabs to go into once you have collected the sample. Most commonly this is a paper swab-collection envelope, which allows the swabs to dry, thereby preventing mold growth from damaging the DNA sample. At DDC we ask for four swabs per person so that we can run our unique Dual Process™ wherein every test is run twice as an added layer of accuracy.
What’s in a Home Paternity Test Kit?
If you order one of our no-obligation testing kits, DNA Diagnostic Centre’s paternity test sample-collection kit contains enough swabs to test one possible father, one child, and mother—if she wishes to be included. We encourage mothers to be collected to aid with the paternity calculations but we can still provide an accurate result without her participation.
The home paternity-test kit includes:
- 12 sterile cheek swabs
- Three (3) DNA sample envelopes to place the swabs in after taking the samples
- One (1) form for payment details and instructions on how/where to send the results
- One (1) prepaid business-reply envelope
- One (1) set of instructions
Carefully follow all instructions provided in the kit to ensure that you have collected an adequate sample and to avoid contamination and the need to recollect samples.
If you have any concerns about the sample collection process, or if you would prefer to come to our London office so that one of our professionals could collect the samples for you, please don’t hesitate to contact our very experienced customer service team on: 020 3301 7346.
If you need advice about the testing process or which test is most suitable for you, please phone one of our highly-experienced customer-service staff on 020 3301 7346.
