Wanting to Take a DNA Test? Here’s All You Need to Know

DNA tests are something we completely associate with TV dramas, high technology and ultimately something you can’t do without a lot of fuss and an appointment with your doctor.

Naturally, none of us would ultimately want to need a paternity test, but if you’re looking to find a long lost parent, or even child, then they are actually becoming more accessible than ever before. In fact, you won’t even have to leave your home.

DNA tests have come a long way over the years, with technology taking from it an expensive tactic by the police to identify suspects, to an almost 100% accurate, cheap system that’s openly available on the internet.

dna-test
DNA test; image source: pexels.com

Testing at home

You can take a paternity test from home these days and it can be done in three simple steps.

The first one being to order the best DNA kit affordable to you online.There are dozens out there, generally costing around the $99 mark, and once orders and it on your doorstep, you can collect the data you need for a DNA test to be made.

A swab test

The most common way of doing this is through a swab test. Referred to as a buccal swab, you’ll receive a kit within your package in which you swab the inside of your cheek. That will gather a unique genetic profile which can then be compared to match with a parents.

The genetics of a child is made up of both parents’ profiles, therefore a scientist is able to match up the DNA in order to determine the birth parent of an offspring. Interestingly, 99.9999% of DNA is identical, so it’s the job of a scientist to analyse that 0.0001% in order to find a match. They do this through a method called polymerase chain reaction, which essentially magnifies that strand of DNA in order to generate thousands of copies and using a method called thermal cycling in order to find matches between different sets of DNA.

Other options

If a swab isn’t available however, the same method of pairing can be taken by using hair samples, blood samples, nail tests and even fresh sperm. All of these will carry your DNA and allow you to take a paternity test.

Again, like a swab, you’ll simply have to put one of these in a sealable tub, and send it back to the company in which you bought it from.

From there it’s simply a waiting game. Often you’ll receive a confirmation email from the lab to inform you the samples have arrived and will generally take around three weeks to discover the result.

It really is an easier way than ever before to take DNA testing and you can generally have the answer you desire within the period of about a month for the expense of a weekly shop in some cases.

About author:
This article was contributed to healthiack.com by a guest author.

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