DNA Maternity Test

Every person has two copies of each gene. One copy comes from the mother and the other copy comes from the father. Thus, one half of the genetic material in our body is inherited directly from each of our two parents. When a DNA maternity test is performed, the DNA laboratory examines the DNA of the child to determine whether the mother’s contribution matches that of the alleged mother. If the alleged mother is the true biological mother of the child, half of the child’s genetics will match that of the alleged mother’s DNA. The other half comes from the father and will match the profile of the father (testing the father is optional). If the tested woman is not the true biological mother of the child, the half of the child’s genetic material which comes from the mother will not match the profile of the tested woman. If the profile does not match, the tested woman is excluded as being the true biological mother of the child. When a DNA maternity test is performed, the laboratory usually examines many different genetic locations. The more genetic locations that are examined, the more powerful and accurate your test becomes. After examining many genetic locations, a DNA lab can conclusive determine whether the tested mohter is indeed the true biological mohter of the child. Our maternity test report will provide you with a simple “inclusion” “exclusion” conclusion for your maternity test as well as a detailed report indicating the genetic profiles of each tested individual. A glossary of terms and results interpretation sheet is also provided with your results and is intended for individuals who would like to understand their genetic report and detail and to understand how the conclusion of the test was obtained.

Both the Legal and Private tests are equally accurate and both will provide absolutely conclusive results. If you choose the private test, a home kit will be sent to you so that you can collect the samples discreetly in private. If you choose the Legal Test, the collection must be done by an unbiased individual (doctor, lawyer, notary, etc.) and all individuals attending the collection appointment must bring a passport photo, picture identification, and they will be fingerprinted during the sample collection appointment. If you do not need to use the results in court, then the private option will provide the same conclusive results as the legal test and can be done discreetly.

If the parties to be tested living different cities or different countries, the kit can be split and sent to each individual separately. The kits are individually barcode labelled so once the samples arrive back at the laboratory, they will be tested together. To order a split kit, please write the following into the comments box of the online order form when you place the order “Please split kit. Please send mother’s portion of the kit to: (mother’s name and address), and please send the child’s portion of the kit to: (child’s name and address).”

CODIS stands for Combined DNA Index System. The CODIS loci are the loci which are approved by the FBI and other recognized standardization bodies worldwide for databasing and genetic profiling. At International Paternity Labs, 13 out of the 16 loci which we test are CODIS loci. As such, the profile obtained from each test far exceeds the current recognized standards.