Want to know who’s the daddy but don’t want to wait until after the birth to find out?
A new DNA test, now available worldwide, promises to do just that – and with a claimed 99.9 percent accuracy too.
But the paternity test, launched in South Africa this week, comes at a hefty price and interested people will have to pay R14 500 for the service. The non-invasive prenatal paternity test was launched by DNATest.
Director Nevin Pillay said the test used single-nucleotide polymorphism microarray technology, which required simply that a blood sample be drawn from the mother and alleged father.
The results would be available within 10 days, said Pillay, adding that the test could be conducted from the third month of pregnancy.
He said the test was 100 percent safe for the developing foetus, 99.9 percent accurate, and was performed in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified laboratory.
“What makes this new test extraordinary is that it uses cell-free circulating foetal DNA found in the mother’s blood, which is stabilised with a proprietary reagent, combined with the analysis of 317 000 genetic markers.
“That means the DNA we analyse is only the DNA from the foetus, and not lingering DNA found in the mother’s system from previous pregnancies.
“With this technology, the DNATest Non-Invasive Prenatal Test is by far the most significant innovation in paternity testing in the last decade.”
Pillay said their bioinformatics technology was used in a range of clinical diagnostic tests involving tiny quantities of DNA.
“We know that mothers around the world will take comfort in the safety and convenience of the test, and potential fathers – who comprise nearly 50 percent of our customer base will also find closure at an early stage of the pregnancy.
“Yes, it is expensive, but people have to understand the implications and we also offer pre- and post-counselling,” he said. - Daily News