Our paternity and DNA testing guide has been provided by Cellmark, the UK’s most experienced and recommended DNA paternity testing service. Established in 1987 Cellmark is accredited by the UK Ministry of Justice and, with over 20 years of specialist DNA paternity testing is one of the largest and most trusted paternity testing providers in Europe. For further information, or to discuss any issues surrounding DNA Paternity Testing please contact Cellmark's friendly and professional customer services team on 08000 362 522 or go online at www.cellmark.co.uk.
DNA paternity testing is a scientific process that can positively identify relationships between people from their DNA. Most commonly it is used to establish if a man is the true biological father of a child. DNA paternity testing is also often referred to simply as a DNA test, a paternity test or DNA testing.
Grandparentage testing
DNA testing can be used to examine the relationship between a child and a possible grandparent, although the inclusion of other close relatives in the test is always recommended. A DNA profile will be produced for each person, the profiles will be compared, and a statistical analysis of the most likely relationship will be reported.
Paternity testing using paternal grandparents (because the alleged father is unavailable) should ideally include samples from the child’s mother as well as from both paternal grandparents. This will provide the same degree of certainty as if a sample from the alleged father had been tested.
If the mother and only one of the paternal grandparents are available, the test will provide a strong indication of whether the two individuals are related but it cannot provide a conclusive result. The statistical analysis will determine the most likely relationship given the DNA results.
It is possible to just compare the DNA profile of a child and an alleged grandparent, although it is preferential for the mother to be tested. This can provide an indication of a relationship but, because of the patterns of DNA inheritance, it will not always reveal the true nature of the relationship. Such an analysis can only report the most likely relationship given the DNA evidence.
Summary – the best people to test
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Mother |
Child |
Paternal
Grandparent 1
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Paternal
GrandParent 2
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Please note that if maternity is being investigated the maternal grandparents should be tested
For further information on the work of the Human Genetics Commission and the Human Tissue Act visit the HGC’s website www.hgc.gov.uk.
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