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Common Mistakes to Avoid When Getting a Paternity Test – 2024 Guide

Source: testsmartlylabs.com

A medical way to confirm your biological father is by checking and matching DNAs. But sometimes, your outcome can be wrong due to your mistakes. While doing the paternity test, you must not know enough how to do it. The lack of information about this test will get you the wrong results.

Before conducting the test yourself or getting it done by a professional in a medical lab, you need to know some common mistakes. This way, you will avoid making common mistakes and get accurate results. Ensure you do the paternity test by a professional in a reputed laboratory. 

This guide will explain all the mistakes that must be avoided for satisfactory and accurate outcomes. You need to know more about paternity tests and understand that they can show incorrect outcomes due to human errors.

1. Chances of Mistake While Gathering the DNA Sample

Source: daily.jstor.org

The paternity test starts by collecting a sample of the individual. The sample of blood cells, hair strands, semen, saliva, skin tissues, umbilical cord, etc., can check DNA structures. While collecting the sample, one needs to take care of the hygiene.

The sample must be collected and stored in a clean container. If the container is contaminated, the test results will be incorrect. You feel disappointed and separated from your child when you get inappropriate results.

You can avoid family conflicts by ensuring the paternity test takes place correctly. While leaving the sample in the lab, ensure it is handled carefully. Even if you are testing yourself, you must avoid getting contaminated.  

2. Lab Errors

Source: usalab.com

Incorrect or inappropriate results of the paternity test are also due to mistakes in the lab. The laboratory you choose for the test must be good enough to properly handle samples from different clients.

Sometimes, the labs mix the samples by mistake and test incorrect samples. Such human error will give you incorrect results. Whenever you go to any lab and confirm the appointment for the test, you must gather more knowledge about the staff and their services.

You can get such details from reviews, statistics, online complaints, etc. If any lab holds a good record, the chances of making such human errors will decrease. If you get incorrect results, you can confirm it by doing the paternity test again from another lab.  

3. Fraud

Source: skillcast.com

There is less chance of fraud when you get a negative result from the paternity test. If you have enemies around you, they can tamper with the sample submitted in the lab. The changed sample will be tested, and you will get an incorrect report.

The child will not belong to his father, which can separate them and the family. If you think someone has done fraud to you, it is better to contact the legal expert and let him handle the case. When you get legal protection, no one can tamper with your samples, and you will get the correct results.

The chances of fraud will be decreased, and you will get the desired outcomes. Fraud situations are uncommon, but it happens with people who have enemies. You can get rid of fraud by getting extra legal protection.

4. The Child Relates to the Man Other than His Father

If the child’s biological father is one of his relatives other than his so-called father, then the paternity test comes positive. Suppose the so-called and the biological father are related like brothers can get the positive DNA report. It is quite complex to detect the original father.

If the so-called father has a doubt and proceeds with the test, the outcome will be positive, which can be disappointing for him. When two subjects are closely related to each other, their paternity test appears the same. With the help of other advanced DNA testing, one can prove that the so-called father is not the biological one.  

5. Using the Test Kit

Source: cdc.gov

A paternity test has become popular in many places worldwide. You can buy test kits and do the testing by yourself. But you cannot confirm whether the outcomes you get are genuine. You will follow the instructions on the label, but you can get incorrect results if the kit is defective. Sometimes, you can get false-like positive or negative results.

For confirmation, you must send samples to the lab and let professionals do the testing. Before doing the test using the kit, ensure all the kit parts are in good shape and not damaged. You must not rely on the kit results. You must avoid making family decisions based on the kit test. You must go to the lab to confirm your DNA report.

6. Few Markers have Tested their DNA

Source: expertreviews.co.uk

As per the research, the percentage of sharing DNA with other people is quite high, even if you are related or not related to them. If the testing is done on more markers, more men will become the child’s father. The surprising reason behind the rule is the common DNA patterns.

If any laboratory stops doing the paternity test for different patterns after getting the common one, you will get invalid results. Therefore, more markers should be tested for DNA to record different patterns. This way, one can easily compare the structures with the available ones and get a positive result.

Final Thoughts

If you are doing the paternity test, you must know about the whole process. There are chances of making common mistakes that must be avoided. You will get the relevant results if you stop making the mentioned mistakes. You must think twice before proceeding with paternity testing and giving samples in the lab.

It is possible to do the testing yourself using the kit at home, but you cannot confirm it is valid. Therefore, it is better to gather samples, store them in a clean container and submit them to the lab professional. Depending on the father and child’s DNA structure, you will get an accurate report within a few days.

Written by Kan Dail