Fathers to get £30 DNA paternity test over the counter (although it will cost you £119 to get the results back)

By David Derbyshire for MailOnline
Updated:


The first over-the-counter paternity test kit will be on sale within weeks.

The £30 pack will allow a man to check his DNA against a child's to identify whether he is the biological father.

International Biosciences, the British company launching the kits in chemists, claimed they were legal, safe and at least 99.9 per cent reliable.

Enlarge   The DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit will be available in pharmacies within weeks

In pharmacies within weeks: The DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit

But medical ethical experts warned that DIY paternity tests would foster a 'culture of suspicion' and could cause heartbreak for rejected children.

DNA testing is a growing industry, fuelled in part by daytime talk shows such as The Jeremy Kyle Show, where bitter paternity disputes are played out in front of the cameras.

International Biosciences claims the kits 'offer consumers a quick, convenient and affordable solution that doesn't require any courts, doctors or solicitors'.

Ian Meekins, head of the company in the UK, said the packs had been available on the internet for years.

'They are aimed at everybody,' he said. 'We have ladies who aren't sure who the father of a child is, and there are chaps who want to find out. We don't stand as moral guardians and we don't judge. We give people factual information.'

The kits come with six swabs for collecting samples of DNA, which is then sent to New Mexico, America, for testing at an additional fee of £119. The results are posted, emailed or given over the phone in just one week.

Mr Meekins said the tests showed whether the man was not the father a 100 per cent of the time. They were 99.9 per cent effective in showing he was the father. But if a mother's DNA was also submitted, then a positive test was also 100 per cent accurate, he said.

The results will not be accepted as evidence in court.

The fatherhood check

It is illegal in Britain to take DNA from an adult without consent. But it is legal to take a swab from those under 16 as long as consent is obtained from a guardian. That would allow a father to test whether he is a child's biological parent without the mother's knowledge.

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said the easy availability of paternity tests raised deep concerns.

'One of the big problems with genetic testing is that the information isn't neutral - it isn't just wheeled out in a moral vacuum,' she said.

'The discovery that a child isn't related to their father can have a huge impact on that child.'

The kit is being supported by the National Pharmacy Association, which represents 98 per cent of high street chemists.

A spokesman said the association was happy that the tests were accurate and the American laboratory was reliable.

Some DNA testing services have been criticised for giving unreliable results.

However, International Biosciences said its New Mexico lab met 'international accreditation standards'.

Most watched News videos

Comments 0

Share what you think

No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.