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Prenatal DNA Paternity Test - Establishing Paternity before Birth
If your child has not yet been born, and you are anxious to determine their paternity, a prenatal test will enable
you to do so during pregnancy.
- Accuracy of 99.99+%
- Fast results (10-14 working days from receipt)
- Father’s and mother’s samples taken quickly and easily in your own home
- Child’s samples taken by a medical professional
Prenatal paternity tests can only be effectively conducted on a single fetus. If you are expecting twins etc, a prenatal paternity test will only be effective if they are identical (a fact that cannot be known with absolute certainty during the pregnancy). Refunds will not be given if we are unable to obtain results because of the presence of DNA from multiple, non-identical, fetuses.
As with our normal DNA paternity tests, our highly qualified scientists analyse 18 or 23 regions of DNA during a prenatal test, making our tests up to 250,000 times more accurate than those offered by other laboratories.
DNA Solutions offers high accuracy at affordable prices. We understand that parents will feel anxious about taking a paternity test during pregnancy. Our team of highly qualified scientists and customer care representatives is available to answer your questions at all times.
Pre-natal paternity testing requires a sample of fluid from the womb. This can only be taken by invasive procedures (either Chorionic Villus Sampling or an Amniocentesis), which do carry slight risks for the pregnancy (see below). Because of this, it is difficult to find clinics (certainly in the UK or Ireland) who will take samples and there are only a handful in the UK that will take samples specifically for paternity testing purposes.
If you are already planning on having an amniocentesis or CVS procedure carried out (arranged through your family doctor and generally for medical testing purposes), all that we would need is 1ml of the amniotic fluid (or equivalent volume of cells taken during a CVS procedure) preserved on a special card that we will supply (along with simple instructions for the hospital or clinic to follow) in the testing kit. Pre-natal paternity tests using your own samples cost £249 for an 18 Region peace of mind test or £299 for a 23 Region peace of mind test (at present we are not able to offer legal prenatal tests (i.e. results that can be used in court or with government departments), but are working to resolve this issue and will add details of legal test options as soon as possible).
If you have not already arranged a CVS or Amniocentesis procedure, we do have a doctor in Sheffield who can take the sample specifically for paternity testing purposes. The whole procedure (sampling and subsequent testing) cost £749 for an 18 Region peace of mind test or £799 for a 23 Region test.
If you wish to proceed with a test using our doctor, there are a number of steps that you need to follow.
- Read the information below to determine whether you wish to proceed and whether the procedure can be carried out. There may be some flexibility in having the test done slightly earlier than the periods outlined, but it cannot be conducted any later.
- If you wish to proceed, contact Dr Farrell’s secretary to arrange an appointment on 0114 267 4408.
- You must have written confirmation of the mother’s bloodtype before the procedure can be carried out. This can either be arranged through your G.P., or, for an additional £100, Dr Farrell can do this on the day (but if you plan on having Dr Farrell carry out the blood-typing, payment must be made in advance at the same time as the test is paid for).
- Once the appointment has been made, contact DNA Solutions on 0845 450 0010 (or use the "purchase" button below) to arrange to have a home testing kit sent out for the parents samples and to make payment (payment in full must be made before attending the appointment in Sheffield). We will then send out a pack containing everything you need to take the parents samples.
CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling) |
Amniocentesis |
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| When can I choose this method? | Very early on, 11th-18th week of pregnancy |
Later, 15th-21st week of pregnancy |
| When should I have the test done? | If any other procedures are dependent upon the results of the pre-natal paternity test, please ensure that you allow as much time as possible. It generally takes at least 9 working days from receipt of your samples in London before we will have results, and if there are any problems and we have to have Dr Farrell send the back-up samples that he retains, it could be as much as 4 weeks. |
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| What is the procedure? | A sample of fetal chorionic villi is obtained by inserting a needle under ultrasound guidance. | Approximately 1 ml of amniotic fluid is extracted from the amnion, surrounding the developing fetus. |
| What if I am expecting twins (or more)? | Testing in the case of multiple-fetus pregnancies is theoretically possible, but as a matter of policy DNA Solutions will only perform pre-natal paternity tests where the pregnancy is either a single fetus or identical twins (a shared amniotic sac). If you need to have a test carried out during a multiple-fetus and multiple-amniotic sac pregnancy, please contact us to discuss whether anything can be arranged (however, any such test would be at the client’s own risk and no refunds could be given if DNA Solutions were unable to clearly identify DNA from each individual fetus). | |
| How do you obtain the parents DNA? | Samples from both the mother and father are taken using simple mouth swabs contained in our home testing kit. | |
| Can you test without the father’s permission? | No. Even if you are from overseas, UK law requires that permission is given by everyone being tested. However, if the father has given his permission, but is unavailable to provide a sample, other items can be tested (please contact us for details) | |
| How accurate is the test? | A test using samples taken by CVS is just as accurate as a post-natal test. | A test using samples taken by Amniocentesis is just as accurate as a post-natal test. |
| Will the test also show the sex of my baby? | Yes, but since this will generally be known by this stage of the pregnancy, we will only include it in the results if requested. | |
| Are there any side effects | Common side effects include some bleeding, period-like pain and discomfort in the abdominal area. You should contact your doctor immediately if you experience heavy bleeding, pain or a high temperature. | Common side effects include mild pain or stomach cramps. You should contact your doctor immediately if you experience heavy bleeding, pain or a high temperature. |
| Who takes the samples? | Unless you have made your own arrangements (through your GP and generally only available for medical reasons), samples are taken by Dr Tom Farrell at the Thornbury Hospital, Sheffield, South Yorkshire. | |
| What are the risks to my baby? | Chances of fetal loss are increased by 1%. Please discuss these risks with your doctor before making a decision. | Chances of fetal loss are increased by 0.5%. Please discuss these risks with a doctor before making a decision. |
| What if I am unable to obtain a fetal sample? | It is important that you only pay for the test and obtain a home testing kit after you have made the appointment with Dr Farrell. If you are subsequently unable to attend the appointment (and unable to reschedule), your fees will be refunded (less a £29 administration fee and any cancellation fee charged by Dr Farrell). | |
| What must be prepared in advance? | You will need to have written evidence of the mother’s blood type from your G.P. or, have paid an additional £100 for Dr Farrell to perform this on the day. You will also need to have prepared samples (using our mouth swabs) from the alleged father unless he will also be attending the appointment in Sheffield. | |
Simply contact the team now or call 0845 450 0010 for further information.
