Accuracy of Noninvasive Prenatal Paternity Testing

For years, establishing paternity for an unborn baby required invasive procedures that increase the risk of miscarriage. Recently, though, a noninvasive test requiring a simple maternal blood draw has become commercially available.

  1. How it Works

    • Fetal DNA is present in the mother's blood. By isolating this DNA, researchers are able to compare it to the DNA sample(s) provided by the alleged father(s) to determine paternity.

    What is Required

    • The mother needs to provide a blood sample to the testing lab. Traditional DNA sources (saliva or hair samples) can be used for the alleged father.

    Accuracy:

    • Some companies claim 99 percent accuracy for positive paternity and 100 percent accuracy for negative paternity as early as 12 weeks gestation.

    Problems

    • Fetal DNA can remain in a mother's bloodstream for up to 20 years. Unless it is a first pregnancy, it is possible the wrong DNA may be isolated. Additionally, the number of fetal cells present in the mother's blood is very small and the chance of isolating enough DNA cells to conduct the test is only about 75 percent.

    Legality

    • As of March 2010, this type of testing has not been accredited by AABB, the governing board for paternity testing, and the results may not be admissible in a paternity suit.

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