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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Over the counter DNA tests

22 replies

MrSpoc · 01/02/2011 10:30

to think that these are going to cause alot of trouble?

It has been announced that in Manchester shops are now selling the home DNA tests.

OP posts:

KnittedBreast · 01/02/2011 10:37

no brilliant idea. whats the problem with that?

fotheringhay · 01/02/2011 10:38

Yes I saw this on the Guardian www.guardian.co.uk/uk/feedarticle/9479104

Could get a bit can-of-worms-ey

Original poster

MrSpoc · 01/02/2011 10:43

i can just see loads of stories in the Sun Newspaper how a dad of 4 has been bringing up his kids to find out none are his.

OP posts:

Hammy02 · 01/02/2011 10:45

I don't have the statistics but I remember being shocked at the number of fathers that are unknowingly bringing up children that aren't actually theirs.

Hammy02 · 01/02/2011 10:45

I don't have the statistics but I remember being shocked at the number of fathers that are unknowingly bringing up children that aren't actually theirs.

kepler10b · 01/02/2011 10:45

sounds like a great idea.

slightlymad72 · 01/02/2011 10:47

Hammy, isn't the figure something like a third of fathers are unknowingly bringing up children that are not biologically theirs.

FindingStuffToChuckOut · 01/02/2011 10:47

well it won't be the tests that cause the trouble, it will be the potential results confirming some previously concealed behaviour/lies/deceit etc that will cause the trouble.

Hammy02 · 01/02/2011 10:48

I don't remember it being that high. Also, I'm talking about fathers thinking the child is their own when in fact the mother has played away. I'm not refering to step-parents, adoptive parents etc.

ValiumSandwichTime · 01/02/2011 10:50

Well, from the pov of a father who has some doubts about the children he's raising, a good idea for him, although sad for the children....

However, from the POV of a woman who's deadbeat x denies paternity, no court would admit these as evidence. Have seen on Irish parenting forum that fathers were putting the onus on their child's mothers to prove the child was theirs (!!) and making them do these cheap unreliable tests. Then, if it went to court later the fact that a test had been done at all made it look as if the mother originally had some doubt in her mind, and yet, even if the test came back positive it was dismissed as only proper legit laboratory tests are admissible in court. so all procedings delayed for a month or so.

so I say stay well clear of these cheap tests, if you're going to do one at all have it done properly

ValiumSandwichTime · 01/02/2011 10:50

Whose deadbeat x

TotemPole · 01/02/2011 10:51

It's not that cheap for a home test. £160 for the test and the lab time. I think people would think twice about spending that money unless they have a good reason to question their situation. I can't see that many doing the test willy nilly.

Snorbs · 01/02/2011 10:53

Swab kits have been available by post for years. I don't see that having the swab kits available over the counter will make any significant difference.

TotemPole · 01/02/2011 10:53

Have seen on Irish parenting forum that fathers were putting the onus on their child's mothers to prove the child was theirs (!!) and making them do these cheap unreliable tests.

Oh, that's different then. I didn't realise they were unreliable.

KnittedBreast · 01/02/2011 10:55

its not a shame for the dad who finds out the kids arent his, the issue is his cheating wife. Tests dont create these circumstances

Original poster

MrSpoc · 01/02/2011 10:58

apparently the company who are doing them are the same as the ones the courts use to test for parently DNA. What they do is take a swab and send it to a lab for proper processing. So not a cheap test at all and it is done to the same standards as they do for court.

OP posts:

TotemPole · 01/02/2011 11:06

MrSpoc, aren't the swabs taken under controlled/monitored conditions for the court test?

ValiumSandwichTime · 01/02/2011 11:10

Totempole, they may well be reliable, but the courts can't trust the result as they don't know if the 'father' supplied the sample do they!? maybe his friend did?

So it doesn't matter if the £160 kit is in itself accurate, the fact is a court of law won't admit it.

TotemPole · 01/02/2011 11:16

they may well be reliable, but the courts can't trust the result as they don't know if the 'father' supplied the sample do they!? maybe his friend did?

Valium, that's just what I was thinking. The swabs could be faked.

I think the CSA tests are about £300 and it would be an official person taking the swabs. £160 is a lot to potentially waste, and not really that much cheaper than the standard ones.

So, after thinking about it some more, I'm not sure who will benefit from them. If the father fakes the test and the mother is convinced he is the father then surely the mother can push for an official test via the CSA or court?

Amieesmum · 01/02/2011 11:18

My ex partner has decided he's like a DNA test after 6 years of my daughters life. (because i called the CSA)
I have no problem with doing the test, but something about buying one over the counter makes me a little uneasy.
I think that the lack of regulation could be a problem (i.e it could easily be tampered with) unlike a court ordered DNA test which has to be carried out in the presence of a doctor.
Any father wishing to void himself of the responsibly of a child may find this an easy way to do so.

Snorbs · 01/02/2011 11:50

As these tests aren't court-approved then they are worthless to avoid responsibility for a child. A court- or CSA-ordered test will trump the results from a test such as this.

Where these tests can be useful is where a mother is unsure of who the father is or where a father thinks a child is his but wants to be sure. It's not a panacea but it can help in some situations.

ValiumSandwichTime · 01/02/2011 12:09

Amiesmum, tell him, no problem, the CSA will arrange it.

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