Paternity Testing

A method which is one hundred percent reliable in establishing
paternity is carried out in accordance with the standards
of the most contemporary forensic laboratories and with
complete discretion.

Scientific studies carried out in the United Kingdom have shown
that in up to 30 percent of marriages spouses have had to face the
problem of “fake paternity”. Official statistics of this type in Serbia
do not exist, but future fathers have demonstrated a surprisingly large
need to confirm their status in this manner.
Before the PCR method for confirming paternity existed, tests were
based on blood type analysis, where reliability varied between
80 and 99 percent. Those results left room for doubt, because blood
groups amongst people are similar, so that even one percent of
“uncertainty” theoretically gave rise to the possibility that someone
else was the baby’s father.
However, DNA is unique for each human being (except one egg
twins), therefore the QF-PCR method which is applied in the
Helix laboratory, is for now the fastest and most reliable way
to establish kinship.

Analysis of an unborn baby can be done during the second month of
pregnancy, by taking a chorionic villus sampling, during the
later stages of pregnancy by taking a sample from the amnio or fetal
blood, as is otherwise done in prenatal diagnosis, as well as by
DNA material (hair, blood or buccal swabs) in already
born children.
The actual method is based on the analysis of parts of the chromosomes,
i.e. in comparing the DNA profile of the father and child, and finding the
corresponding genetic material.
Waiting for results lasts 24 hours, and the reliability of eliminating the
possibility of paternity is 100%. In situations where it isn’t possible to
take a sample from the mother, and where only DNA of the father and child exists, analysis is reliable 99.99%, therefore, almost completely sure.
This method of establishing kinship is otherwise used in the most contemporary
forensic laboratories in the world, in investigations and for court purposes.
Paternity can also be tested anonymously, i.e. the samples of blood or
hair of the father and child can be submitted, and will be valid in court –
in case samples are taken in our laboratory.

Establishing paternity is based on the DNA analysis of 16 genetic locuses
using the most contemporary methods. The analysis requires 5 ml of blood
taken from the vein after which the QF-PCR analysis is performed on the
Genetic Analyzer – 3130 AppliedBiosystems.
Results are available in 24 hours.
If paternity is established by analyzing the father, child and mother, the
biostatistics probability is 99.99%, and the exclusion of paternity is 100%.
This analysis is based on amplifying microsatellite markers with the
PCR method using one marked and one unmarked primer. The
microsatellite markers (short tandem repeats - STR) are polymorphic
DNA locusts which consist of a repeated nucleotide sequence. The
sequence is 2-7 base pair repeat. The number of repetitions
vary in the population creating multiple alleles for microsatellite
markers.