10 per cent of people might be wrong about who their real father is (Picture: Getty)

Genetic testing has revealed that around 1 in 10 people in Britain are mistaken about who their real father is.

Some experts estimate four per cent of the population are not aware that the man they call ‘dad’ is not in fact their biological father.

But Ian Cumming, Chief executive of Health Education England, said he thinks the figure could be as high as 10 per cent during a presentation at the Hay Literature and Arts Festival in Wales.

He said: ‘If you look at people who have had genetic tests within families for reasons other than trying to work out paternity, for one in 10 people your dad isn’t who you think it is.’




Genomic testing allows doctors to screen patients for diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer’s to take preventative action.

Doctors are also left wondering when the best time to tell a patient about an increased risk of a serious diease is (Picture: Getty)

Around 220,000 tests are carried out by the NHS in England and Scotland each year, according to the Telegraph.

But the tests have been revealing some awkward family secrets and hospitals have been left with the ethical conundrum of what to do with them.

Professor Cumming said: ‘Are we going to tell people: “That’s not your dad” – or are we going to keep that information to ourselves? I don’t think that would be acceptable ethically.’

It is not known how many people – if any – are told about their true lineage.

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But the possibility of detecting serious illnesses also leaves medical professionals wondering when would be the right time to inform them.

Professor Cumming added: ‘Within the next 10 years we will probably be whole genome sequencing 100 per cent of the population who wish to be sequenced.

‘That will start giving us all sorts of information about probability of people developing particular conditions, particular diseases.

But it is not without controversy, if we are able to predict someone has an increased chance of developing breast cancer when do you tell them?

‘Do you tell their parents when they’re born? Do you tell them when they’re 12, 14, 16, 18?’

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