The home paternity test, bestseller

15% test negative

The low cost prices and the guarantee of anonymity popularize the purchase of the kits

Raquel QuelartBarcelona

Just a phone call or filling out an online application is enough to receive a kit at home that clears doubts about possible or false paternity with close to 100% reliability. The lot includes several swabs, instructions and a form to be completed by the recipient. It is not even necessary to provide personal data.

According to the companies consulted, the sales of these kits have skyrocketed in recent years, boosted by the progressive lowering of prices -less than 200 euros- and the possibility of collecting the samples at home and sending them, anonymously, by mail or messaging to the laboratory. At the same time, companies offering the service proliferate.

15% of paternity tests show that there is no biological relationship between father and child

The combination of discretion and anonymity is fundamental, according to experts, so that more and more parents decide to resolve through this route the doubt of whether or not they are the biological parents of their children. In fact, they warn, that around 15% of the paternity tests that are currently carried out in Spain show that parents and children do not have a genetic link.

"What is homemade is taking the sample," clarifies Mercedes Aleman Romero, manager and technical director of CeFeGen, one of the centers that markets the kit and that has seen a 20% increase in the number of tests in the last year. made – most requests are anonymous. "The test itself is done in the laboratory," she clarifies, where she analyzes the DNA of the samples provided to establish whether or not there is a relationship.

The private test has "the same reliability" as a test with legal validity, says Alemañ, since the entire analytical procedure "is identical" and "all the samples enter the laboratory encrypted." Anyone can request the analysis, although the applicant must previously indicate the relationship that is being investigated. For example, if it is a father and a son or a grandson and a grandfather.

The kit that the interested party receives is made up of four sticks – two for the son and two for the father. One of the sticks is rubbed on the inside of the left cheek for about 20 seconds and the other on the right cheek. After sending the samples, in approximately one week the result arrives at the interested party's email.

Almost anything that contains a biological remains can be profiled”

However, there are other types of samples that can be provided for the investigation of paternity. "It may happen that a father does not want his son, already a little older, to know that he has wanted to take the test," explains Aleman. In this case, there is also an alternative.

Other valid samples could be nail clippings, hair pulled out by the roots, a piece of gum, a pacifier, a toilet with a runny nose, or unwashed underwear. Although the most frequent is saliva, Aleman assures that a profile can be obtained “almost from anything that contains a biological residue”.

The minor's right to privacy

Although the test request can be made anonymously, there are legal limits. The lawyer specialized in affiliations Enrique J.Vila warns that only people who have legal guardianship of a minor can order a test of this type. Otherwise, they would be committing a crime against the privacy of the boy or girl.

In addition, he clarifies that even if one of the two parents refuses to take the test, the other is entitled to request it. In this sense, it is not necessary to collect a biological sample from the mother to obtain a reliable result. Industry sources point out that it is in separation or divorce processes when it is customary to request this type of analysis.

What if there is no biological link?

If the result is negative, the affected party can file a claim to challenge paternity and the judge can exempt him from the obligation to pay alimony for the minor or the attribution of a family home. But for this to happen, it is necessary to carry out a paternity test with legal validity, that is, private tests do not work.

In order for it to be accepted in court, "the chain of custody of the sample" must be guaranteed, explains Vila, that is, from the moment the sample is taken until it is delivered to the laboratory, which must be authorized by the Ministry of Justice for such effects-, an accredited professional must be present and confirm that a certain biological profile belongs to a specific person.

Another way to carry out the process is for the two people to physically go to the laboratory, where the samples will be extracted and they will be correctly identified. Then, the expert or director of the center must go to testify before the judge.

All kinds of advertising from companies and laboratories that offer private paternity tests from 145 euros proliferate on the internet, that is, those that only serve “for peace of mind”, as one of the advertisements that run through the network says. "You have to be very careful," warns Enrique J. Vila.

A highly reliable test, with exceptions

The lawyer explains the case of a woman and her supposed son who underwent a paternity test and agreed on 18 of the 18 genetic markers that were analyzed in the test, which ruled that there was a relationship. Fortunately, they also underwent another test carried out by another laboratory – of 25 markers and, therefore, more precise – which concluded otherwise.

The experts point out that for the results to be reproducible, the laboratory must follow the recommendations of the International Forensic Genetics Association and use reagents validated by said society. "Generally, people trust this type of test quite a bit," says CeFeGen's technical director.

If you have a child that you love as your son because you have raised him and then it turns out that he is not your biological son, it is very hard

Mercedes Aleman RomeroCeFeGen Manager

However, Mercedes Aleman acknowledges that some applicants for the paternity test, after learning of the unexpected result, ask: “Is there no possibility of error? Are you sure?". And she affirms: "If you have a child that you want as your son because you have raised him and then it turns out that he is not your biological son, it is very hard."

Private paternity tests have no legal validity