When it comes to buying a paternity test, you want to make sure that the test you are getting is accurate and will offer fast results. There are many options to have a paternity test, but with more and more of us opting for private tests ordered online, there is a whole market to choose from.
It can feel overwhelming knowing where to start and ultimately who to trust not only with your money but to run a test whose results have the potential to be life-changing.
Paternity for life is one of those DNA testing companies that offer a range of services to help you find the answers you are searching for. Today, we will give you a comprehensive review of the company and their services so that you can go forth more informed to make your decision!
Who is Paternity for Life?
Paternity for Life is a worldwide accredited DNA lab approved by the ministry of justice, NDIS, NATA, and ISO. Based in the UK, the company ships worldwide to offer you results to a whole host of services.
Paternity for Life understands that, generally, a DNA test is taken under stressful circumstances. You may be confirming your parenthood or finally discovering you have a family.
These situations are stressful and can be upsetting, which is why Paternity for Life offers a personalized approach to help you throughout the process.
You are communicated with throughout the entire process; they employ highly experienced staff to support you in choosing your test, collecting your sample, and understanding your results. The support should help to make the entire process run smoothly.
Paternity for Life offers worldwide testing and results, despite being a UK based company. Thanks to their reliable reputation, Paternity for Life has excellent relationships with embassies and consulates worldwide, providing you with results no matter your location.
Services
Paternity for life offers a range of services that we will look at in more detail now.
Their services include paternity testing, maternity testing, relationship testing, genetic screening, clinical testing, immigration DNA testing, and personal DNA.
The following tests we are looking at are some of the most popular ones offered by Paternity for Life.
Paternity Testing:
Paternity for Life offers a Paternity DNA test that is quite affordable. Within the cost, all your postage is covered too.
Both tests are sent to the same address for you to get the results you need quickly. The test will confirm a child’s father, requiring a sample from the child and the alleged father.
The test offers 99.99% accuracy in identifying the child's father. Paternity for Life will provide peace of mind and reassurance for the whole family. This particular test is not appropriate to be used in any legal DNA testing situations. Still, Paternity for Life offers a legal DNA test for paternity, which will cost you more.
The test can be undertaken at home with mouth swabs to collect samples. The test is painless and straightforward to carry out. You don’t need to test the mother of the child with this test either. Simply order your kit, attach your address and wait for the kilt to arrive.
Inside the kit, you will receive everything you need to collect your samples and straightforward, easy to follow instructions. The instructions are based on this being your first time taking a paternity test, let’s face it, it’s not something you do every week, so you can follow the instructions and complete it with ease.
Once the test is completed, simply send the samples back in the return envelope provided. Usually, your results will be available in five working days, which is a speedy turnaround! The results are sent to both parties being tested.
If the child is under the legal age, then the results will be sent to their legal guardian. The results are sent to the email addresses you provide, so both parties can be sure to receive the correct information. If you wish, you can receive hard copies of the results, but this will cost extra.
Legal Paternity DNA Test
For those in need of paternity results for any legal disputes, this could be the test for you! A legal paternity test can be requested for custody and child maintenance cases, inheritance disputes, changing the name on a birth certificate, and immigration purposes.
A legal procedure must be followed when completing a legal paternity test, which explains why this test is more than double the cost of the standard paternity test offered.
When taking a legal paternity test, you will need to ensure that the company you take the test from is on the approved Ministry of Justice list; otherwise, your results will have no legal grounding.
A legal DNA test is stricter than the non-legal option we looked at earlier. The samples will need to be collected from an independent third party. Usually, they need to be a medical professional, such as your local doctor or nurse. This person, referred to as a sampler, is responsible for confirming each person’s identity being tested. To do this, you need to make an appointment with the sampler, and Paternity for Life will send the test kilt to them.
There can be a fee from your sampler, which is not included in the testing kit’s price, so make sure you discuss this with the sampler before beginning the process. Paternity for Life can help you locate a sample collector or service in your area to make this part of the process a little easier.
For this test, you will need to take identification with you. You will need two passport-sized photos for each person being tested, in the traditional passport style, for the sampler to confirm they are the true likeness of the person undergoing the test.
You will also need to provide a valid ID. The legal government’s identification must be recognized in your country, for example, a passport, full driver’s license, etc. For children who would not have this identification, then a birth certificate will suffice.
To get this test, you will need to apply via the Paternity for Life’s order page. This is easy to do, and you will need to provide the names, dates of births, and addresses of all parties being tested.
You will then need to give the details of the sampler if you have already arranged an appointment. If you have not done so and there is no need, Paternity for Life will contact you once the application has been received to support you through the process.
The legal DNA testing kit will be sent directly to your sampler then. For those undertaking the test for immigration purposes, the test will take place at the nearest embassy or consulate; more information about this is available on Paternity for Life’s website.
The results should be received within five working days, sent to the parties via email address. If the child is under the legal age, this will be sent to their legal guardian. These results can also be sent directly to the third party lawyers or other parties if written consent has been provided by those tested.
Prenatal Testing
Prenatal testing refers to a range of tests you can undertake, which you can purchase as a bundle option. These include a non-invasive prenatal paternity DNA test, prenatal chromosomal abnormality screening, and baby gender DNA tests.
These tests are a great way to get a better understanding of your unborn child. You can confirm the paternity of your baby, the sex of your baby, and if there is a potential risk for a range of health conditions. It is this test that is popular and one we will look closely at now.
The prenatal genetic chromosomal abnormality screening test, known as NIFTY, is a non-invasive test for genetic abnormalities. NIFTY uses a blood sample from the pregnant mother to analyze the baby's DNA looking for chromosomal conditions such as Down's Syndrome.
These tests can be done as early as ten weeks during pregnancy. At no additional cost, Paternity for Life throws in a sex determination test if you don’t want any surprises at the birth!
NIFTY tests use cell-free DNA fragments that are found in the blood to conduct these tests. During pregnancy, both the mother and baby’s cfDNA can be found in the blood. To complete this test, you will need a professional to collect the blood via a standard medical blood draw.
The test is a screening test, rather than a diagnostic test, which can be discussed with and arranged by your local doctor if they see fit to do so. You are looking at 99.5% accuracy when it comes to determining the risk of having a condition.
NIFTY does not test for all chromosomal conditions that invasive procedures can test for. It is worth having a conversation with your OBGYN if you are concerned about the risk of any genetic disorders to arrange the necessary tests.
The test is not suitable for everyone, especially those who have undergone a recent blood transfusion, transplant, or stem cell surgery. There have also been cases where their sample has produced no result. This is common in patients who are overweight, pregnant with twins, or an older expectant mother.
Suppose you fit into any of these categories. In that case, it may be worth considering other options to find this information out, as you may not receive a result, and Paternity for Life does not offer a refund for no results.
The results will take roughly 15 days to come back; there can sometimes be a delay; Paternity for Life will update you if this is the case. Don’t panic if your results are delayed, as this does not mean there is an issue with the sample; the lab may be running repeat tests.
Prenatal testing can be costly, so it is worth only having the test if you are genuinely concerned about the risk of a genetic condition being passed onto your unborn baby.
Relationship Testing
Relationship testing is another umbrella term used to determine the relationship between two family members.
Relationship testing can be used for a range of relationships, such as siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, as well as twin testing.
These relationship tests can all be done at home with the use of mouth swabs. The tests will be sent to a nominated address containing the equipment to complete the tests, along with detailed instructions to help make the process that much easier. The tests can be returned using the return envelope provided, with postage cost covered in the initial cost.
The results can take five working days to return. The results will be sent to the parties via the email addresses provided. If one of the parties is under the legal age, the results will be sent to their legal guardian. At an additional cost, you can request a hard copy of the results.
The tests for the extended family cannot always confirm the exact relationship between the two parties. This is because a child’s DNA will be split 50/50 between its parents, meaning testing grandparents, aunts, and uncles will share a lower percentage of DNA with their potential grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
The results will be displayed as a likelihood ratio; if it is less than one, the relationship is unlikely to exist. If the ratio is above 1, then it is likely that a relationship between the parties exists. The higher the number, the greater the likelihood is that they are related.
Paternity for Life is available for contact to help you decide which DNA test would be best for your particular situation. Sometimes the results can be inconclusive due to the difficulty of comparing DNA between extended family members. It is advised not to take this test if there are more than 3 degrees of separation between the two parties.
As Paternity for Life offers no refund if the test is inconclusive, it is best to weigh up your options and strongly consider this before purchasing the test. Remember that Paternity for Life is there to assist and answer any questions if you are unsure!
Maternity Testing
Maternity tests will determine a relationship between a mother and their children. These tests are useful where the mother was not confirmed at a child's birth and are often used in adoption cases or instances where there may have been a mixup at the hospital or with embryos if the child was conceived via IVF.
Like the paternity test, these tests are non-legal and can be done at home with mouth swabs. For this test, both the alleged mother and child will need to send in a sample.
The samples are sent out to one address, with a kit to take them and instructions to help you through the entire process. The samples can be returned with the included return envelope. Postage for this is covered in the initial cost of the test.
The results will be available in 5 working days and are sent out via email. Each person involved in the test will receive the results at their stated email address. If the child is under the legal age, the results will be sent to their legal guardian. Hard copies of the results can be requested at an additional cost.
The test is very accurate and helps to provide clarity and reassurance to those who need it. Remember that Paternity for Life is on hand should you require any assistance!
Personal DNA
A personal DNA test will provide you with a unique form of genetic identification. These tests offer DNA profiling, which can be more accurate than the DNA found from hair or a toothbrush, as other elements have not contaminated it.
The test is done at home with a mouth swab, which is painless and takes little time to do. These tests are considered as non-legal and therefore act as peace of mind only. DNA profiling can be a good test if you are traveling overseas or have a dangerous job.
Some of the jobs Paternity for Life is great for is military personnel, security services, oil rig employees, and firefighters. In the event of an accident, DNA profile records can help to determine who has been involved.
A test is also a good option for parents concerned about their child's safety. The results can be used to identify a child in the event of an abduction. Paternity for Life uses the same identification kit as forensic facilities in the UK and overseas, so the information is accessible and consistent across the world.
You can also get a legal DNA test for the same cost. These are handy for adding into your will in case someone tries to claim to be your descendant.
With a legal test, the sample will be collected by a doctor or nurse, who needs to verify your identification before the sample is sent off. The stricter chain of custody allows the test to be legally permissible.
While these tests will not reveal anything about yourself or your family, they are handy to have if you feel you need that added layer of identification.
Cost
DNA testing can be expensive, depending on the brand and the type of test you are after. Paternity for Life’s range of tests is all decently priced, providing an option for almost everyone!
Their legal DNA testing option is expensive to cover the extensive work that goes into this test to conform to legal requirements. Those after prenatal testing will also notice that these are costly tests to undertake.
These are expensive tests no matter the company being used, but Paternity for Life is very competitively priced.
Final word
Before you leave here today as a Paternity for Life expert, let’s bring everything together. The UK based site offers worldwide DNA testing at home or in a recognized and well-respected lab. They provide a range of tests, ranging from affordable to more costly.
Those after a non-legal paternity test or wanting to discover new relatives will enjoy the services offered and the comfort of on-hand customer support to guide you through this potentially traumatic time.
While the non-invasive prenatal screening tests are expensive and can potentially yield no result, their other services and excellent customer service make them a great company to conduct a DNA test with.