The World's Premier Home Paternity Testing Service

“I can’t participate in a paternity test because it requires a blood sample.”

We hear this from some clients who, for personal or religious reasons, will not participate in paternity DNA tests because they assume samples of their blood are needed. Although blood could be used, it is not the preferred sample for paternity tests. Instead, DNA testing laboratories, such as Beta Genetics, routinely request buccal swabs.

Buccal swabs are used to collect samples of skin cells from the inside of the cheek. Because DNA is found in most parts of the body, these buccal samples are just as useful as blood or other specimens. The patient or another person can painlessly collect DNA samples in little time at all by rubbing the inside of the cheek with the buccal swabs. And people of any age – from birth on – can have buccal samples collected for DNA testing.

To learn more about buccal swabs and the DNA collection process, visit our sample collection page. Also, you will find more information on paternity testing in our DNA testing services section.

In the spirit of the holiday, we collected a few recent news stories that depict the true power of the paternity test. The following articles capture various aspects of DNA testing and how alleged fathers have used paternity tests to clarify situations in their lives.

Buffalo hurdler Rucker leaps into fatherhood
A college student learns he is the father of his ex-girlfriend’s daughter and is able to provide her with a better education and a safer home.

Paternity case beyond personal
A man takes on the California paternity laws to relieve his child support duties of a child proven not to be his biological child.

Paternity test determines elephant’s poppa
From the Louisville Zoo, here’s a heart-warming paternity story from the animal kingdom.

To learn more about these and other DNA tests, visit Beta’s paternity test page.

In a recent article from India, a mother was required to undergo DNA testing to verify her claim of an abandoned child. Although this situation requiring maternity testing may seem unusual, this DNA test has many other more common uses for identifying mothers.

Maternity testing is most often used in situations when a child and mother are separated. This could occur in adoption reunification, immigration cases, and even baby mix-ups in the hospital after birth. A maternity test can identify a mother’s biological relationship to her child.

Maternity tests work the same way as paternity tests. DNA samples are collected from the alleged mother and child (the father can be included) and DNA profiles are generated. The profiles are compared for genetic similarities and the results will show a 99.99% or greater probability of maternity (that the alleged mother is the biological mother of the child) or 0% probability of maternity (that the alleged mother is not the biological mother of the child).

To learn more about maternity tests and other DNA tests, visit the Beta Testing Services page now.

Last week, May 31, Dr. James Watson became the first person in the world to receive a complete copy of his genome. As one of the discoverers of DNA’s helical structure and a Nobel Prize laureate, Watson was an obvious choice for the honor of being the first person to have his genome sequenced.

Watson’s genome provides a complete picture of his DNA sequence, but it comes at a cost of almost $1 million and time of close to two months. For individual and biological relationship identification purposes, such as paternity tests or other DNA tests, much more efficient and less costly options are available.

Beta Genetics offers DNA profiling services for individual identification. These services, the foundation for our DNA tests, analyze a very small but highly variable section of the human genome called short tandem repeats (STRs). These STRs are inherited from both parents and, in combination with each other, comprise a unique DNA profile.

These DNA profiles are used for many reasons, particularly for those seeking to ensure safety and security. They can be used to provide crucial biological evidence for locating missing loved ones, to serve as a means of identification for those employed in high-risk jobs, or to study for medical genetic history. Additionally, these DNA profiles can be used for various biological relationship identifications.

In contrast with a complete human genome sequence, Beta DNA profiles are under $200 and can be generated in 5 working days. For DNA tests, profiles are generated and compared for as little as $235. Additionally, these results are available as soon as 5 working days after receipt of the DNA samples by the lab.

Visit our DNA Testing Services page to learn more about your different options.