DNAForce now offers a non invasive prenatal paternity test that can be done from the 9th week of pregnancy onwards. The test is accurate at 99.9% or more. It compares genetic markers present in a blood sample from the mother to those found in the alleged father’s DNA.

One of the advantages of this test is that the mother does not need to undergo invasive surgical procedures to obtain the baby’s DNA before birth. These older methods like amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) usually have risks of losing the baby. Also, these procedures are usually not permitted for the purpose of determining paternity in every province of Canada except Quebec.

More advanced methods now make it possible to do a prenatal paternity test using blood from the mother.

The blood of the mother contains enough fetal DNA for testing. Scientists now have the required technology to separate the fetal DNA from the mother's blood using powerfull centrifuge. The prenatal paternity test usually involve testing up to 300 000 genetic markers in order to establish paternity. The blood of the mother and of the alleged father can be collected by any healthcare professional; doctor, nurse, technician, etc. A OB-GYN is therefore not required. The results are available in approximately 8 business days after the receipt of the samples by the laboratory.

What can go wrong with the prenatal paternity test?

The test consist of a simple blood draw from each person and is considered safe and non-invasive. In most cases the tested persons will receive their results after the first try. On some rare occasions, there might not be enough DNA the first time. This is in no way an indication that there is something wrong with the baby. The amount of fetal DNA in the mother’s blood is known to vary during the day. If there is insufficient DNA the first time, additional recollections are provided free of charge. Please note that at the 9th week of pregnancy, only 10% of mothers require recollection. The percentage of mothers needing a recollection goes down as the pregnancy progresses. Therefore rest assured that recollection is only rarely needed.

What are the results of the prenatal paternity test?

The results are simple enough to be interpreted as a yes or no. We have expert staff available to answer any questions you might have. If the alleged father is not the biological father, the results will indicate 0%; also known as paternity exclusion. If the alleged father is the biological father, the results will indicate 99.9% or higher; also known as paternity inclusion.

The Parental Support method for paternity determination. Paternity test results for two separate women: (a) one with paternity inclusion and (b) one with paternity exclusion. The test statistic distribution is indicated in gray, the region indicating paternity inclusion is indicated in green, the region indicating paternity exclusion is indicated in beige, and the region indicating indeterminate paternity is indicated in black.

For scientific/academic information you can view the science paper published in the prestigious journal nature, at http://www.nature.com/gim/journal/v15/n6/fig_tab/gim2012155f1.html.

What do read next?

Read the test information page.

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