Newest Trend: Over the Counter Paternity Tests

By Anna Boyd
16:54, March 27th 2008
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Newest Trend: Over the Counter Paternity Tests

A DNA paternity test worth less than $150, with confidential results available within days from a lab, is the first to be sold over the counter and promises to offer “peace of mind” to those who need it.

Utah-based Identigene offers the over-the-counter DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit which costs about $30.

Each paternity kit provides only one test result; the baby, mother and supposed father must each collect a sample by rubbing a cotton swab on the inside of a cheek for 30 seconds.

The cotton swabs are mailed in sealed plastic bags and sent along with a signed consent form and a $119 fee to the lab that does the testing. It only takes a few days to find out who the father is and, provided that the information listed on the form is correct, they are 99.9 percent accurate.

The kits were test-marketed in Rite Aid stores in Washington, Oregon and California starting in November. Rite Aid initially bought 10,000 kits for the test and then ordered 10,000 more for all of its stores, except those in New York, where state law requires a court order or medical prescription, Douglas Fogg, chief operating officer of Sorenson Genomics, parent company of Identigene, told the Salt lake Tribune.

Fogg also told the Tribune that in informal survey conducted by Identigene found that about 60 percent of purchasers were women and most of the buyers were in their 20s. Fogg said he believes about 30 percent of the kits were bought for someone else who had a paternity issue. He added that many purchasers were adults who were still uncertain about who their parents are.

While the kit’s test results are not admissible in court, they are a potential comfort for people who only want “peace of mind for people who are curious and really want to know,” Fogg told the Washington Times.

Identigene also offers legally valid tests for approximately $350.

Fogg added for the Salt Lake Tribune that his company’s laboratory is accredited for crime scene processing and by the American Association of Blood Banks, which set standards for handling and processing samples.



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