Are All DNA Paternity Tests Equivalent?
NO! DNA testing is the gold standard for human identity testing, and, by extension, for paternity. There are many variations of DNA testing being performed by different laboratories. Some laboratories use antiquated methods and test only a few markers, some as few as 3 or 4 markers. Statistically, one cannot get a very reliable result from this small number of markers. Some laboratories use even older methods of blood typing and HLA matching to determine paternity. The most reliable tests can be obtained from laboratories who test 13 or more marker systems. These labs use the same technology as does law enforcement agencies for DNA evidence. Some laboratories that specialize in paternity testing take this one step further and test 15 marker systems plus a marker for gender for a total of 16 marker systems. Since paternity testing is a combination of identifying DNA markers and performing statistical calculations concerning the probability of inheritance of these markers, the more marke
