Question:
What if I mess up my DNA Paternity Test? I ate/drank/brushed my teeth before using the DNA Paternity Test and I don’t want my results to be wrong!
Answer:
Identigene DNA Paternity Tests are very easy to use. Simply rub the swab on the inside of the cheek for several seconds, put the swab in the labeled envelope and mail it off to Identigene.
DNA is extracted from your cheek cells, which are collected when you rub the swab against the inside of your cheek. Eating, drinking, or brushing your teeth will not change your DNA, but it can make for a messy sample. While eating and swabbing won’t change your DNA or cause a wrong result, it might mean that you didn’t get enough cheek cells for good DNA extraction; in other words there may not be enough DNA, but it won’t be different DNA.
Once we receive your samples they will be checked to be sure you have collected enough cheek cells for a DNA extraction. If the lab feels that there is not enough DNA present to get a good reading, we will send a recollection kit, at no charge.
That said, there are some things you can do to avoid having to recollect.
First, wait an hour after eating or drinking before using the DNA Paternity test. This will ensure you are collecting the cells from inside your mouth and not turkey sandwich. Also, drinking or brushing your teeth can wash away the loose cells which are what you want to collect with the swab.
Using the swab, rub firmly the inside of the cheek for 10-20 seconds, rotating the swab as you go. It is the loose cells inside your cheek you want to collect, not saliva or blood.
Our experienced DNA test consultants are also available at 888-404-GENE should you have any questions. Or feel free to ask me your paternity test questions on twitter at @askkate.
Where’d you get the inspiration for this post from?
This was suggested to me by one of our DNA test consultants. If there is a question they get frequently on the phone, I try to answer it here.
Anyone that has a question about DNA, DNA testing or Paternity testing, ask away! I love finding the answers.
-Kate
Hi kate i have two possible fathere well partner a i had sex wit 23 24 and 25 unprotected and partner b the 25 up until i ovulatated which was the 2nd and now i found out i concieved on the 2nd of the next followin month which is most likely the father
Quita, based on the dates you gave, my guess would be that it was the second partner. But that is only just a guess.
If you want to be sure, do a DNA paternity test with the most likely father. I think it will be worth it to clear up any uncertainty. It can be done quickly, and confidentially from your own home.
http://www.dnatesting.com/dna-testing/home-dna-paternity-test.php
Hey kate i have a few questions…. I did a home DNA test to prove to this guy that my daughter was his, she looks just like him, same eyes nose and mouth. We took the test and the test came back that she wasnt his and i want another test done, but im wondering what happened, why did the test come back that she isnt his? I didnt sleep with nobody but him. Im going to get another home DNA test again, but what to know why it came out like it did the first time. What went wrong??
Hi Jay,
If you used IDENTIGENE’s home paternity test, I’d love to discuss your results with you. There are a lot of variables and I want to make sure I get all the details so we can figure out what happened with your test. It’s important that you are confident in your results. You can e-mail me at kmiller@identigene.com, or call me (or any of Identigene’s test consultants) at 1-888-404-4363
One again, your idea is very
good.thank you!very much.
kate i hav taken 2 perternity test with a man that was soupose to be my daughter’s father they both came back that he wasnt the father…my daughter 20 mnths later still looks like him..there was another man envoled while i got pregnant,but at the time i slept with him i had already felt prgnant and asked him to because i was getting sick..there’s no way he can be the father..he took a pieace of my daughter’s hair and tested it and it came out that he wasnt the father..im going crazy and dont know what to do..i dont have money like that to do all thid fancy testing
Hi Asha,
I’m so sorry that this is so stressful for you right now, and I understand why you would be concerned. However, looks REALLY aren’t a good way to determine paternity. I’m sure you’ve had cases where you’ve met someone or seen someone who looked JUST like a celebrity. It’s the same thing here, you just can’t go by physical features.
Are sure that the correct people’s DNA was submitted and that there was no way that samples could have been switched before arriving at the lab? You didn’t say who did the testing, but did you use an AABB accredited laboratory? If both of those are true, with the same result on two tests, I think your result is probably accurate.
The only other thing I would recommend that you could do, is do a legal test. The test is the same, but with the legal test, the identity of all the participants is confirmed, and the samples handled by an independent third party to be sure they are not falsified or tampered with in any way. A Legal Paternity test is more expensive than a home test, however.