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ALMOST six out of 10 Welsh men who take a paternity test turn out not to be the biological father.

Private DNA testing service BioClinics, which runs a clinic in Cardiff, found that a staggering 57% of hundreds of analysed paternity tests conducted in Wales were negative.

Dr Nichola McChrystal, the company’s director, said: “I was not particularly surprised by these results but I think some people will be. There are serious medical implications to not knowing the identity of your biological parents. There are also serious emotional factors.”

Dr McChrystal said there were many reasons why people got the DNA testing done and results were often a shock to people who had not even considered their child’s paternity.

She said: “The thing that we have to take into account is that we do a lot of DNA tests for immigration purposes where the paternity of the child is not even in question.

“We are trying to highlight is that it is a really serious issue. When they get the results it can be life-changing.

“I think some people have the test done and are not expecting it to be negative.”

But she said she did not believe it was a reflection of a change in society.

She said: “People are more educated now. People now know that if they are in doubt about bringing up children that may not be theirs, they can get tested. I don’t think behaviour is any worse than it was.”

Dr Tony Calland, chairman of the BMA’s medical ethics committee and former chairman of the Welsh committee, said having a DNA test could prove devastating for many families.

He said: “Paternity tests are not something that should be taken lightly. Having said that, it is generally regarded that finding out the truth is in the best interests of the child and is better than having uncertainty. It certainly can have a big impact on families. Any kind of DNA test can give a certain amount of information – the difficulty is that it might not always be good news, which could affect members of the whole family, including brothers, sisters and the parents of the child. This can be particularly hard if someone is getting a DNA test to look for a particular condition rather than a straight paternity test.”

The clinics also raised concerns about numbers ordering cheap internet or over-the-counter DNA test kits.

Dr McChrystal said: “Negative test results and in some cases positive results can have devastating effects. These statistics illustrate how complicated the paternity issue is in this country and why over- the-counter or do-it-yourself kits are simply not good enough. Relationship tests should be carried out in a supportive and clinical atmosphere where advice and counselling is available.”