DNA Testing Blog – DNA Paternity, Sibling, & Biological Family Testing

Prenatal paternity testing is becoming more and more important in today’s world. An estimated 75% of fathers who pay child support are paying for children who are, in fact, not even theirs. A further estimated 10% of American children are fathered by someone other than the man their mother tells them.  Courts recommend that any parent who will be paying child support get a paternity test, before agreeing to pay.

While in some cases, this is caused by deceit, studies show that the majority of these mothers just don’t know who the father is. This phenomenon is part of the cause for the rising demand for prenatal paternity testing.

Prenatal paternity testing allows the mother to privately determine who the father of her child is. This removes any guessing, uncertainty or the possibility of mistakes and for any woman who has had more than one partner, this can be extremely important for the future of the child. Knowing who the father of the child is will allow the mother to legally demand child support or share custody from the man she has proven is the father.

Today’s non-invasive prenatal paternity tests allow women to take a test right from the privacy of their home. All that is required is a simple drawing of blood with no doctor required for the non-invasive test; a doctor will be required to withdraw amniotic fluid samples for older versions of the test. Women should include a sample from the expected father. The child’s DNA is picked up directly from the mother’s blood, allowing DNA test labs to determine the paternity of the child before it is born. Fetal DNA is extremely plentiful in the mother’s bloodstream as documented in the book, ‘Prenatal Diagnosis’ by Jocelyn Kaiser. The process of prenatal paternity testing involves comparing the DNA of the child with that of the father in order to conclusively determine results.

Most importantly, this new, non-invasive prenatal paternity test allows women to test the paternity of their child without risking harm to the fetus. Outdated, less safe prenatal tests required the mother to visit a doctor in order to withdraw a sample of amniotic fluid from around the womb. The process required inserting a needle into the womb to withdraw the fluid which could be harmful to the child. No prenatal paternity test can be purchased online, however; you can schedule a purchase date from a local store through your computer. You should arrange for a pickup of your DNA samples when you order the tests.

The new, non-invasive prenatal test can be performed as early as 9 weeks with DNA test results in as little as 5 days!

Prenatal paternity tests are safe, affordable and can be performed at home. All you have to do is take a blood sample from the mother and the alleged father, mail it in and wait for positive results. Learning the truth is important on any occasion, but even more so when it involves the paternity of a child. Home paternity tests are private, affordable and most importantly, accurate. If you have any doubts about the paternity of a child, there is no reason why you shouldn’t purchase a prenatal test and have a professional pick it up for analyzing. Knowing the paternity of your child is important for the mother, the father and the child!

In 2010 the unexplained death of Gareth Williams, puzzled the world. Detectives suggested that perhaps his mysterious death had been caused during a sex game gone wrong, his parents suggested British Spy Agency involvement.

At the time of his death, the 31 year old was employed by Britain’s ‘secret spy’ service GCHQ and also had ties to M16 agents overseas.

His death was even more mysterious than his work. Williams was found naked and dead inside of a padlocked sports bag that had been placed into his bathtub. His body was found decomposing, one week after death. His body was free of contaminates suggesting drugs, recreational drugs or alcohol and his body did not display signs of a struggle.

Police agree that there was no way Williams could have locked the bag from the outside. However; by all accounts he seemed to have gotten into the bag on his own. Further reports state that he probably suffocated within 30 minutes of being locked inside of the gym bag.

Two people were spotted entering the Williams residence around the time of his death. They have not been located.

Despite initial police claims of an accident; Williams’ family suggests British Intelligence involvement. They claim that items are missing from Williams flat, that the police wiped away prints and removed prints from the bag as part of a cover-up. Because of their accusations, the police began an in depth investigation of his mysterious death.

New DNA tests run on the bag have produced two inconsistencies that suggest a third party was present to put Williams into the bag. According to the Gaurdian, “It was only discovered in February that it was actually DNA from one of the forensic officers… the mistake had been both financially and emotionally costly. Around 60 people, friends and colleagues, were DNA tested to see if they matched, she said, while Williams’s family had been given hope that a third party could be identified.”

Unfortunately, the case remains open.

The New Delhi high court ruled that ND Tiwari, a veteran leader in congress, will be required to give a DNA sample to prove the allegations of a young man claiming to be his son.

A ruling handed down last Friday, states that police force may be used on the 86 year old Tiwari if he continues to refuse to provide a blood sample for the DNA test. Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Acting Chief Justice AK Sikri have set aside a previous single judge’s order from 2011, which said that Tiwari could not be compelled to give a blood sample.

The high court allowed the plea of 32 year old Rohit Shekhar and stated that “Adverse inference cannot be a substitute to the enforceability of a court direction for a DNA test.”

They also ruled that the right of the appellant (Shekar) to prove his paternity by DNA testing cannot be taken away.

As Tiwari continues to defy the order, the high court has authorized reasonable force and police assistance to compel Tiwari for a blood sample.

Before the court made its ruling, Shekar stated that without an order from the court to compel Tiwari for a DNA test, it would be very difficult for Shekar to prove himself as the biological son of former governor and congress veteran, Tiwari.

After Tiwari’s 2011 refusal to appear in a high court dispensary to give his blood sample, he has publicly stated that he cannot be forced to give a DNA sample to prove Shekar’s claim of being his biological son.

Denying Shekar’s paternity claim, Tiwari has also challenged the high court’s single judge order before the division bench. They have also rejected his appeal.

In March of 2011, the apex court also refused to stay the high court’s order for his DNA test.

After both the high court and the apex court order have mandated Tiwari to appear at a dispensary to give a blood sample, he has started another round of litigation stating that he cannot be forced to provide a blood sample to refute the paternity claims of Shekar.

Juvenile(real name Terrius Gray) rapper and former Hot Boy, recently filed for a paternity test for his 13 year old son as part of an ongoing battle between himself and the teens mother.  In February of 2012, she requested and was issued an arrest warrant for Juvenile after he fell behind on child support by $160,000.

Juvenile filed the court documents for the paternity test in Louisiana.

“My son acts and looks just like me. I am doing this for procedural reasons to get custody;  I love my son to death… I hope the test proves that he is mine.” Says the rapper, he also goes on to claim that he is running the paternity suit in order to get full custody should his son be his.

However; Juvenile also claims to have proof that the mother of his son had sexual intercourse with several other men at the time of his son’s conception. Despite Juveniles claims of custody, there is a very real chance that the boy is not his.

Furthermore, Juvenile has also requested that should the paternity test come up negative, he will be voided of the unpaid child support and will be paid back restitution for money that he already paid the mother.  He currently waits, pending the results of the paternity test to be revealed in court sometime next month.

Studies show that many women claiming child support are in fact tricking the men who believe they are fathers. In Harare Africa, a study was done that came to the conclusion that 6 out of 9 of the men taking paternity tests were in fact not the fathers of the children that they were supporting.

Unfortunately, paternity fraud (either known or unknown) isn’t limited to Africa; it is prevalent in the U.S. as well.  Statistics in U.S. hospitals estimate that as many as 10% of American children are not fathered by who they think they are. While in many cases the mother knows, in some cases she doesn’t know.   On average, that’s about 1.6 million men who pay paternal support for children that aren’t theirs.

With the number of support cases steadily rising in most countries across the world, it is even more important for men to get a paternity test before paying child support. While it is easy to believe that a wife, girlfriend or lover was faithful and that the child is yours, statistics show that you could be very wrong.

Paternity tests require that the father, the mother and the child in question give blood or DNA samples which are then sent to a DNA testing facility.  Paternity tests can conveniently be done at home, at your private doctor or in a hospital. Many chose to take tests at home because they are affordable, private and relatively fast.

Any man who suspects that their children are not theirs are encouraged to get a paternity test. According to the American Association of Blood Banks, an estimated 30 percent of men who suspect the mothers infidelity are in fact correct.

It is recommended that if you have any doubts about the paternity of a child, you should complete a paternity test before agreeing to pay child support.  If you can prove that you are not responsible for paying maintenance before the court grants child support, you can save both yourself and the child a great deal of trouble.

Paternity testing is a necessary part of life. Even if you think that you are the parent of a child, you should consider doing a test before paying any child support whatsoever.

Courtesy: PA

The mysterious death of Gareth Williams, of the United Kingdom, took a surprising turn when a human error could have been at fault during the evidence collection. Williams was a top secret code breaker and a MI6 spy for the UK’s secret eavesdropping unit.

Williams was found dead in his London flat over 18 months ago in a bag zipped and locked from the outside. The “typographical error” made while evidence was being collected caused police to search for a suspect that never existed. The DNA error was only a partial profile and it caused police to be lead astray for over a year.

The Williams family believes that a third-party, possibly an agency in the secret services, tampered with evidence after Williams had died, in order to cover up and hide proof of activity that Williams was involved in. Supposedly there was no panic by his employer when he did not show up to work which begs the question even more. By the time authorities showed up to his home, the body had been so decomposed that much of the evidence was lost.

It is incredible how important DNA tests can be. Just a small miscalculation or input error can do something like this; send authorities after a “ghost” for 18 long months. For this to break to the Williams family is a tragedy.

‘It’s not every day that a convicted murderer clears his name and then returns to court to argue that his prosecutor should be prosecuted. But that’s what happened recently in a high profile case in Texas that raises broader questions …’  -60 Minutes

Michael Morton was a normal family man with absolutely no criminal record when his life turned upside down. On a day that started just like any other, Morton went to work leaving his wife and toddler at home. He returned from work to find the sheriff at his house and the horrible news that his wife, Christine Morton, had been brutally murdered in the couple’s bedroom. Just six weeks later Morton’ was in prison- charged, and later convicted, of the vicious killing. Despite Morton’s claims that he ‘did not do it’ he was sentenced to life in prison.

It wasn’t until recently that a Houston private attorney and lawyers from the Innocence Project were given permission to re-open the case and find evidence that would later lead to Morton’s freedom.

After spending nearly 25 years in prison, Michael Morton was recently exonerated of the killing because a simple DNA test proved him innocent.

The power of DNA testing proves itself over and over in cases like this; Michael Morton , Cornelius Dupree, Michael Green, Derrick Williams and so many others. Each of these men spent countless years in prison for a crime they did not commit.  DNA testing proved their innocence and gave these innocent victims their freedom back. It’s just unfortunate that so many years of their lives were lost in prison beforehand.