How reliable is a paternity test?
From time-to-time people need to know who their father is or who their child is. The best way to do this nowadays is through DNA, which is where all the genetic information is stored. A paternity test checks the similarity between two strands of DNA. In this case, between a father and a son. If the strands match, the result will be above 99% but will never reach 100%. If the strands do not match, the result will be zero. In this sense, if the results reach 99% or more, the paternity test is validating that there is indeed a link between father and child. This percentage is considered legal in any court worldwide and can be used in legal proceedings where parental custody or parenting rights are sought.
Why will the result never reach 100%?
When there is some nervousness after knowing the results, people ask questions in a desperate attempt to try to reverse reality. One of these is that, if the result did not reach 100%, then the paternity test is not reliable. To understand what is happening, you must first understand how the results are displayed. Results are based on statistical calculations. To get a result of 100%, every male of the same ethnicity should be tested as the biological father. This does not guarantee that the paternity test will give a result of 100%. There are tests that give a result of 99% as there are others that give a result of 99.99%. In all these cases, as long as the result is 99% or higher, the man who participated in the test is considered to be the biological father of the child.
Can I perform a paternity test from the comfort of my home?
Technological advances have facilitated many medical processes. Today we can perform tests at home that previously could only be done in a laboratory. You can find laboratories on the Internet that will sell you a paternity test and send it to your home. Taking the samples is very simple. You just rub a swab on the inside of the cheeks of the father and the child you want to test. Then you store everything according to the instructions and send it to the indicated address. The samples of this paternity test are verified by a professional laboratory that will have the results in about 4 days. You will receive them by email. Be aware that this type of test is not for legal processes. For legal use, you must use another type of test.