Paternity Testing in Incestuous Cases

Incest refers to any illegal/socially unacceptable sexual activity between close relatives, usually within one's immediate family. Common incestuous cases involve adult men and their daughters, and sometimes also siblings have incestuous relations. In these types of incest cases, it is possible that a child may result, and it may be difficult to conclusively identify the child's biological father. When a DNA test is performed between a close male relative of the biological father, i.e. brother or father, of a child, and the child, the non-father could possibly be falsely identified as the biological father. Or, for example, in the case of a child produced from brother-sister incest, it is very likely that the alleles inherited from the mother are included in the father‘s DNA profile. However, today's DNA tests can definitively determine paternity, even in incestuous cases.

The basic function of parentage testing is to exclude the maximum number of individuals that could be biological fathers of the child in question. This is done by identifying the obligate allele in the child and determining if the alleged father also carries this allele. The obligate allele is the allele which a child obligatorily inherits from the biological father. If an alleged father is not excluded, the weight of this evidence can be calculated. The most reputable laboratories today utilize a 15-17 genetic loci plus the Amelogenin locus (determines sex) test, as a standard. This advanced analysis can confirm paternity with certainty of 99.9999+%, even in cases of incest.

The DNA Identity Testing Center of Bio-Synthesis, Inc. is an active member of the AABB Relationship Testing Accreditation Program and actively participates in proficiency testing by the College of American Pathologists. With nearly 15 years experience in the DNA testing field, law enforcement, legal representatives and individuals alike trust BSI with their private and legal DNA testing issues, worldwide. Visit www.800dnaexam.com for a full description of all testing services.