Monday, January 19, 2009

Is Paternity Testing Accurate

By PTC Labs

I CAN'T BE THIS CHILD'S FATHER!!!

My childs paternity test has to be wrong. How is this possible?

There are no government regulations for performing paternity testing. One company issues tests that say my baby, yes or my baby, no. There is no genetic information provided and no indication that they actually performed testing. Heads he is yours and tales he isnt. Who knows how they determine paternity. You cant tell from their report if a DNA test was performed.

Another laboratory makes outrageous claims about prenatal testing from the mothers blood. It routinely issues reports with incorrect answers, and has even lost some major lawsuits when sued for incorrect test results. That laboratory is still in business and still routinely issues incorrect paternity tests after more than 6 years. In fact, that particular laboratory can not even seem to get a standard paternity test correct. We recently dealt with a paternity test issued by them that included a mother, child and alleged father and they still issued an incorrect answer.

The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) accredits paternity laboratories. Accreditation is voluntary. A laboratory does not have to be accredited. The only way to determine if a laboratory is accredited is to check with AABB at their website www.aabb.org. A list of accredited laboratories is available on their site. If a laboratory is not listed on AABB then it is not accredited. It does not matter what the website claims. It is not an accredited laboratory unless it is listed.

Even using an AABB accredited laboratory does not guarantee correct results. All AABB accredited laboratories must follow accepted procedures and test to minimum levels of discrimination. Each individual laboratory must decide what level of testing is acceptable in their laboratory and what additional precautions they will take.

If you have a DNA test with an unaccredited laboratory there is no guarantee that the test was performed correctly or that it was performed at all. Testing with an AABB accredited laboratory gives you assurance that a minimum level of testing was performed and that it was performed using correct procedures. Testing with an AABB accredited laboratory that has high level guarantees helps to ensure that you will receive a correct answer.

If you search the internet, it may appear that there are hundreds of AABB accredited DNA laboratories. When you check the AABB website you will find approximately 40 accredited laboratories. If a laboratory is not on the AABB website it is not an accredited laboratory. If it is not on the AABB website, then it is likely that it is not a laboratory at all. It is probably someone that created a website and is selling tests. They are probably sending your test to the least expensive place they can find if they are testing it at all.

An incorrect paternity test may be the result of fraud, poor laboratory procedures, or inadequate amounts of testing. DNA test results are only as reliable as the laboratory performing the test.

The best way to protect against an incorrect test is to utilize an AABB accredited laboratory that guarantees high levels of discrimination. If you have received what you believe to be an incorrect results, you should have a second test. The test should be performed by an AABB accredited laboratory that guarantees results.

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