Result accuracy
Relationship tests are based on comparing specific DNA fragments of suspected relatives. DNA is inherited by a child in the womb: half of the genes are passed on from the mother, half from the father. Thus, if you compare identical areas in a child and a parent, they will coincide by 50%. DNA sections that are unique or found in an extremely small number of people are analyzed.
Modern analysis technology guarantees 99.99% reliability of the result.
Areas of application
Forensic scientists were the first to appreciate all the advantages of the then young and undeveloped DNA testing technique. And, this was not without a coincidence. The discovery of DNA identification, similar to fingerprint identification, was discovered by British scientist Alec Jeffreys on September 10, 1984. He was studying abnormalities in chromosomal DNA using X-rays, and noticed that nucleotides have a unique sequence and it differs for everyone.
The discovery gave rise to the variety of applications of DNA analysis that exist today - we can observe how incredible technology from science fiction becomes everyday reality. It's surprising that Alec Jeffries never won a Nobel Prize. He still lives in the UK and is 69 years old.
These days, with a DNA test you can:
- Establish a person’s identity by his smallest traces: by the glass from which he drank; a drop of blood dried on a shirt, etc.
- Establish paternity.
- Establish relationship and its degree between an unlimited number of people (without studying the DNA of fathers and mothers).
- Identify an infection or virus before the first symptoms of the disease appear.
- Create a diet that is most suitable for the body, based on its innate individual characteristics.
- Predict predisposition and contraindications to sports and physical activity.
- Find out whether there are traces of hereditary diseases and predisposition to them in the genome.
- Find out the sex of the child even before his birth, as well as the Rh factor and genetic failures (if any).
And this is only from the range of possible applications available to the general public. In the future, genetic scientists hope to find the secret, if not of eternal life, then to develop a method to extend it many times over.
The procedure for collecting biological material
The material for analysis in our laboratory is a buccal swab - it is taken from the inner surface of the cheek using a sterile cotton swab. This is the gentlest way to take a sample for DNA extraction - some other institutions use blood from a vein.
The procedure has no contraindications.
If it is not possible to carry out direct sampling from the subjects (child, intended parents), a toothbrush, chewing gum, earwax on a cotton swab, or hair can be used for analysis.
Lawyer's answers to questions about genetic testing to establish paternity
Is it possible to conduct an examination to establish paternity if the mother is against it?
No, but in this case, on the basis of Art. 79 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the court will consider that she has something to hide, and the decision will most likely be made not in her favor.
Is it possible to conduct a DNA examination after the death of the child's father?
Yes. For this purpose, biological samples of the deceased person (if available) or materials from close relatives are taken. The study is carried out using specially selected markers that make it possible to determine kinship. The accuracy of the test is close to 99%.
Is it possible to test DNA for paternity at home?
You have the right to independently take biomaterials at home and send them for research, but the conclusion will not have legal force. The collection of materials should only be carried out by a specialist so that the examination can be used for legal proceedings.
What material is needed to establish paternity?
Usually, sampling is done from the mucous membranes of the cheeks (inner surfaces). Blood, hair, nails, etc. are also taken.
Is it possible to obtain DNA for free through the court?
Yes, if the research is carried out on the initiative of the court, or the initiator has a poor financial situation, and the court considers it necessary to finance the analysis from the budget. An appropriate determination will be made regarding this.
Test result
According to the order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated May 12, 2010 No. 346 “On approval of the Procedure for organizing and conducting forensic medical examinations in state forensic institutions of the Russian Federation”, paragraph 84.12.6, the level of evidence of an expert study in the case of non-exclusion of paternity and maternity should be the following values:
- for a complete trio (mother - child - putative father), provided that the truth of the other parent is considered indisputable - not less than 99.90%;
- for a duet (child - putative father) in the absence of the other parent - not less than 99.75%.
The results of the study to determine paternity and/or maternity are prepared within 10 days. After this time, after collecting the material, you can receive the results in electronic form.
The test results in the form of a package of documents with a hologram and a blue seal can be obtained 4-5 weeks after collecting the material.
Purpose of genetic testing
In most cases, to establish paternity, written evidence, testimony and photographs confirming the cohabitation of a man and woman during the alleged period of conception of the child are sufficient. If there are not enough of them, at the request of the party, a genetic DNA paternity examination is ordered, the purpose of which is to establish the fact of the relationship between the father and the child.
If DNA testing shows that the man is the biological father, the court will decide to establish paternity, even if he denies it.
A woman gets the opportunity:
- collect child support;
- determine the place of residence of the son or daughter, establish the procedure for communication with the father;
- Based on proven paternity, the child will be able to claim the father’s inheritance in the event of death.
Important! If a child was born not in an official marriage, but while living together, the father is established only when the mother and father submit an application to the registry office. Otherwise, the documents indicate the patronymic name given by the mother, and a dash is placed in the “father” column.
In the absence of a confirmed relationship, the woman will not seek child support, because officially his biological father is no one.
The results of the DNA examination fundamentally confirm the relationship between the man and the child; on their basis, the court makes a decision and appropriate entries are made in the registration documents of the minor.
Determination of paternity and maternity for the court
Establishing maternity and paternity for the court differs from the procedure described above only in the composition of the package of documents. The use of DNA analysis results in court as indisputable evidence of confirmation or refutation of relationship is carried out in the presence of an officially certified laboratory conclusion.
You can go through the procedure for determining kinship in all medical centers of our company in Rostov-on-Don and Bataysk. At the same time, we guarantee confidentiality in the analysis and storage of the results obtained.
How genes fall
It is well known that when one of the child’s parents doubts whether he really is a biological parent, then he can only challenge his status in court. According to the procedure, the court in such cases appoints an examination. In our case, the Judicial Collegium for Civil Disputes of the Supreme Court had to face a situation where one of the parents refused to participate.
The story leading up to the trial was as follows. A certain citizen was married. The marriage period is short - a year and six months. In the first two months of marriage, the couple had a child. It is clear that the legal spouse was registered as the child’s father. Time passed, the child grew, and then the father noticed that his son was not at all like him. The man had doubts. Is it his child?
Some more time passed, and the couple separated. After the divorce, the citizen challenged paternity in court. Two local authorities turned him down.
According to both authorities, the plaintiff did not present indisputable evidence that would indicate that he is not the father of the child. At the same time, the court ordered a genetic examination with the participation of the child’s mother, to which she simply did not appear.
Interestingly, the local courts decided that the mother’s refusal to undergo the examination did not change the matter. The courts said: the main thing is to protect the interests of the minor, “the realization of his fundamental right - the right to a family, the right to know his origin, to know his parents and to receive care from them.”
A record of paternity in the case of marriage is made by law in a declarative manner by one of the spouses
The doubtful father did not agree with such conclusions in his claim and appealed the decisions of local courts to the Supreme Court of the country.
There, the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases listened to his arguments. She not only overturned all local court decisions, but also explained how to act in a similar situation.
The Supreme Court began by reminding that a married father and mother of a child are recorded as parents upon the application of either of them. Each of them can challenge this in court. The de facto parents, the child himself after reaching adulthood, his guardian or the guardian of the parent if he is declared incompetent have the right to do the same. In this case, the party in the case needs to prove the circumstances to which he refers.
As the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation emphasized, molecular genetic research can be one of such evidence. In saying this, the high court referred to the materials of its plenum (from 2021 N16) “On cases related to the origin of children.”
The materials of the plenum say that the court may order a genetic examination, taking into account the opinions of the parties and the circumstances of the case. In our case, the district court did just that. But the child’s mother did not come at the appointed time, and the examination was not carried out. What to do if a party evades the examination is described in Article 79 of the Civil Procedure Code. It’s called “Purpose of examination”.
Depending on who exactly decided to avoid it, and on the significance of the results for the party, the court has the right to recognize as established - or, conversely, refuted - the fact to establish which the examination was appointed. This issue is resolved each time separately, depending on the circumstances.
In our case, the court should have checked whether there were circumstances that objectively prevented the defendant, that is, the child’s mother, from coming for the examination, and whether a new deadline was set for the examination. For some reason, no one asked the question: “Why didn’t the defendant come to the examination?” The local court did not find out the reason for the failure to appear.
As a result, paternity was not established in the case. But it was not refuted. This error was also not noticed and corrected by the appeal. As a result, the Supreme Court sent the case for a new trial.
According to lawyers who specialize in such litigation, not in all cases in such claims it is possible to provide indisputable evidence that the legal husband at the time of the birth of the child was not the father. Indisputable evidence in such situations is separation, for example, or evidence of an affair on the side.
After all, a record of paternity in the case of a registered marriage is made by law in a declarative manner by one of the spouses.
From the point of view of the judicial process, the absence of such evidence is a denial of the claim. But only in the case of a full and comprehensive consideration of the case by the court of first instance.
When should you take a paternity test?
A paternity test should be performed whenever there is doubt about the identity of the father. The consent of the child's legal guardians must be obtained before conducting the test. If there is no agreement, an order must be given to the court or the prosecutor's office.
If the court requires a paternity test, the collection of material must be recorded in the protocol. This means that the persons from whom the materials will be taken for testing must be identified, after which the person authorized to take the materials can take them in the presence of at least two witnesses. The test must not be anonymous, and subjects must sign appropriate protocols.
Is it possible to take a paternity test before the baby is born?
It happens that a paternity test is carried out before the birth of the child. The test material is then taken during prenatal tests, i.e. no earlier than 13-16 weeks of pregnancy. However, please remember that these are invasive tests and are performed on some pregnant women. These tests carry a high risk of complications and even miscarriages. Therefore, this method is not widely used.
The test material can also be made from the mother's blood. You can take test material that may contain fetal cells. This method does not provide much certainty, but it is absolutely safe and can be performed even in the 9th week of pregnancy.
A cheek swab or other piece of biological material may be taken from the baby's mother and suspected father for testing.
