The World's Premier Home Paternity Testing Service

What happens if you are unable to collect all of the DNA samples for your paternity test right after you receive your paternity test kit? How long do you have to use the DNA kit?

These are questions that many of our clients ask, particularly when tested parties are difficult to reach for DNA sample collection. The good news: Beta paternity DNA test collection kits do not expire. You can use our kit on the day you receive it or years from now.

There’s a catch, however: If you have collected samples of one or more of the tested parties (but not all of the parties), the DNA in the samples may deteriorate if you wait an extended period of time. Unlike unused kits that have an unlimited shelf life, used DNA sample collection kits (along with the collected DNA) may not last forever after the DNA is collected. This is because DNA can break down over time when exposed to the environmental elements.

So what does this mean?

When you receive your free DNA test collection kit, you have as long as you want to start collecting DNA samples. Although it is best to collect all the samples together, you can collect the samples separately, place them in the paper envelopes provided, and return them to our laboratory. We will store the collected samples and being paternity testing once we receive all of the DNA test samples. Results will be available in 5 short working days from the time the final sample is received.

A school district in Florida recently joined hundreds of others across the country in an effort to protect their students. Wakulla County School District provided its students with identification kits that included DNA collection as part of the National Child Identification Program (NCIP).

This program is just one example of the many applications for DNA banking. The families will store their children’s DNA in their homes, but some may turn to a DNA testing laboratory to provide additional services. Through DNA banking services by a laboratory like Beta, a family can be sure that their samples are viable and secure.

Beta’s DNA banking is a painless process in which samples of DNA are collected, typically through painless buccal swabs, and stored in a safe and secure facility for 15 years or until needed. DNA banking is often coupled with DNA profiling services.

In the NCIP kit, DNA is collected and stored for identification use in case of a child disappearing. By having a sample of the child’s DNA on hand, investigators can use the sample as a reference for following leads to the child’s whereabouts. However, because a laboratory is not involved, families cannot confirm that DNA was collected. Additionally, the samples may not be secure in the home.

Our DNA banking services not only secure DNA samples in an environmentally controlled facility, but we also check for the presence of DNA before we prepare for storage. This ensures that your sample is present and safely stored.

DNA banking is also useful for those who are involved in high-risk professions such as firefighters, construction workers, and military personnel.

With the rapid advancement of DNA technology, DNA banking can also prove useful by maintaining DNA samples for future uses, such as for medical testing or detecting inherited diseases.

Some uses for stored DNA may require that the sample was acquired through chain of custody, or legal, DNA banking services. In these situations, Beta’s in-home self-collection kit cannot be used. You can learn more about chain of custody DNA banking by visiting DNA Diagnostics Center.

For more information, visit the DNA Banking page or contact us at 1-800-798-3810.

Did you know that you may be able to gain answers about paternity if the alleged father is unavailable?

Other DNA tests are an option if you cannot undergo a standard paternity test. The most common non-paternity DNA tests for learning more about paternity are grandparentage, siblingship, and genetic reconstruction.

For circumstances where the alleged father’s parents are available, grandparentage DNA testing can be used to help answer questions surrounding paternity. In a grandparentage test, a child’s DNA profile is compared to the mother’s and the alleged father’s parents’ (potentially the child’s paternal grandparents) DNA profiles. The child’s relationship to the alleged father may be better understood if the child’s profile matched the alleged father’s parents’ profiles. However, this match could also be the case if the alleged father’s biological brother were the child’s father.

Siblingship DNA tests can be used when two people believe they share the same biological parents. If two siblings share the same mother, they can use a siblingship test to determine if they also share the same father (and are thus full siblings). Their DNA profiles will be compared to see if they have biological information from the same two parents or only one parent, their mother (if the two have no genetic similarities, the likelihood for them being biologically related is low).

Finally, genetic reconstruction is a more complex DNA test for determining paternity relationships. The DNA profile of the child and the child’s mother will be compared to the profiles of at least two close relatives, such as a full sibling or a biological parent, of the alleged father. If the child’s profile is similar to the profiles of the alleged father’s close relatives, then paternity may be inferred. However, because this test is complicated, it may take more extended DNA testing to definitively determine paternity.

To learn more about these and other DNA tests, visit our Testing Services page now. Also, you can order your paternity tests and other DNA tests by visiting our online order form.

Did you know that silent movie actor Charlie Chaplin is linked to the establishment of paternity test results as court-admissible evidence?

In California in 1943, Chaplin faced a paternity suit from ex-girlfriend and fellow actor Joan Berry. Berry claimed that Chaplin was the father of her daughter. Chaplin and Berry’s daughter underwent a blood test that determined that it was biologically impossible for the two to be related. Despite this information, the blood test results were not admissible in court and Chaplin was named the father of the child and ordered to pay child support until her eighteenth birthday. This ruling was based solely on popular opinion rather on scientific evidence (at the time, Chaplin was scrutinized for his political and personal life).

In 1953, California adopted a law to accept blood tests to determine paternity, paving the way for legitimizing today’s DNA test results. The court also overturned its ruling that named Chaplin as the father of Berry’s daughter. Also, since the advent of DNA testing, blood tests have been less frequently used in paternity cases because DNA tests are most often much more accurate and conclusive.

Because of Chaplin’s notoriety, his paternity case drew much attention to the need for conclusive tests for paternity. It also emphasized the need for discretion when facing questions about paternity. Today, DNA test results are commonly accepted in both legal and personal circles as conclusive and definitive answers to questions of paternity and other family relationships. Through in-home testing, you can gain peace of mind by taking a DNA test in the privacy of your own home.

To learn more about Beta’s paternity and other DNA test services, visit our DNA Testing Services page.