A High-Tech Prenatal Option for Establishing Paternity

In August 2011, DDC unveiled the most innovative test of its kind in the last decade: the first non-invasive prenatal paternity test using SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) Microarray Technology, which requires only a simple blood draw from the mother and cheek-swab sample from the possible father. DDC is the exclusive licensee for this test, and our Chief Science Officer Michael Baird, PhD, spearheaded the initiative. Baird confirmed that the new test is 100 percent safe for the developing fetus, provides a 99.9 percent probability of paternity or higher, is performed in a CLIA-certified laboratory (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments), and results are available within seven business days.

How Does the Prenatal Test’s Technology Work?

According to Baird, the use of SNP Microarray Technology is “groundbreaking, innovative technology” that uses more than 2,000 genetic markers and bioinformatics to determine paternity. “The DDC non-invasive prenatal paternity test provides an alternative for people seeking paternity results prior to the baby’s birth, replacing paternity tests that utilize procedures such as amniocentesis, which are invasive and carry risks for the mother and the child,” Baird stated. “What makes this test extraordinary is that it uses cell-free circulating fetal DNA found in the mother’s blood, which is stabilized with a proprietary reagent, combined with the analysis of thousands of genetic markers,” he added. “That means the DNA we analyze is only the DNA from the fetus, and not lingering DNA found in the mother’s system from previous pregnancies. With this technology, the Certainty Non-Invasive Prenatal Test is by far the most significant innovation in paternity testing in the last decade.”

An Innovative Breakthrough in Prenatal Paternity Testing

Peter Vitulli, who was CEO of DDC in 2011, was responsible for securing the exclusive license for this test from its developer. “The DDC non-invasive prenatal paternity test will change the face of the prenatal DNA market. We know that mothers around the world will take comfort in the safety and convenience of the test, and potential fathers—who remarkably comprise nearly 50 percent of our customer base—will also find closure at an early stage of the pregnancy,” Vitulli said. From the test’s developer: “DDC leads the industry in providing accurate and reliable paternity testing. We are honored to partner exclusively with them for the U.S. consumer market, Our bioinformatics technology is used in a range of cutting-edge clinical diagnostic tests involving tiny quantities of DNA—as little as that from a single cell. This unique technology is now being applied to tiny traces of fetal DNA found in a pregnant mother’s blood to reach an accurate conclusion regarding paternity, without incurring any risk to the pregnancy.”

The validation of the technology for single-cell genetic testing was published in the journal Human Reproduction and is used at hundreds of in-vitro fertilization centers and hospitals around the world. The technology has also been validated on cell-free circulating DNA for paternity testing. A 2011 article published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) detailed innovative technology used in determining the gender of a baby by detecting DNA from the fetus that floats freely in a pregnant women’s blood. This article substantiated the validity of the DDC Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity Test. 

Who Should Get a Prenatal Paternity Test?

DNA testing is the gold standard for determining the paternity of a child, providing definitive answers about the possible father of the child. A pregnant woman may not be certain who the father is, which adds unnecessary stress during pregnancy. If a couple is unmarried, a legal relationship must be established for child support or custody. If you’re wondering how to tell if the baby is yours before birth, a non-invasive prenatal paternity test allows you to find out paternity any time after the seventh week of pregnancy.  Establishing paternity is required for other legal reasons. A minor or adult child can be named as a beneficiary for benefits including life insurance, Veteran’s benefits, Social Security, or inheritance. Another common reason for establishing paternity is to determine the potential for genetically-inherited diseases. And sometimes children simply wish to find out the truth about their parentage to connect them to their familial history and past. DDC offers the first and only prenatal paternity DNA paternity test that maintains the strict AABB standards of accountability for prenatal DNA paternity testing, including analysis, PhD review, and documentation. If you’re worried a prenatal DNA test can be wrong, rest assured, this technology has become so accurate that results of prenatal paternity testing from an accredited lab like DDC are accepted in a court of law. The DDC prenatal test is the most important development in DNA-relationship testing in the last 10 years. This is too important a matter to leave to chance.

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