What is DNA paternity testing? DNA paternity testing (sometimes called parentage testing) uses DNA, the biological basis of inheritance, to prove or disprove the biological relationship between a child and an alleged father. It is based on the fact that we inherit half of our DNA from our father and half from our mother.
In a DNA paternity test, DNA samples are taken from the mother, child, and alleged father and are sent to our lab. We purify the DNA and prepare it for testing to produce a genetic profile for each tested individual.
The child’s profile is compared with the profiles of the mother and alleged father to determine whether he/she has inherited DNA from the alleged father. We then perform statistical analysis to calculate the probability of paternity.
What do the test results look like, and how are they interpreted? A paternity test result includes a table that lists the different DNA markers tested (the DNA profile), the Probability of Paternity, and a Combined Paternity Index (CPI) value.
The DNA profile is the raw data on which the statistical calculations are based. You will want to focus on the Probability of Paternity. A result of 0% means that the alleged father is not the biological father; a result of 99.99% or higher means that the alleged father is the biological father. The CPI value represents the odds against another random, untested male in the population having the same results as the tested father
