DNA tests

Originally posted by: pallavi25

Maternity DNA testing determines whether a woman could be the biological mother of a child. Like a DNA paternity test, it compares a child's DNA pattern with that of the alleged mother to determine how likely it is that the child has inherited the DNA from the alleged mother.

In a maternity test, the child, alleged mother, and biological father are tested. The father's participation in the maternity test helps to exclude half of the child's DNA, leaving the rest for comparison with the alleged mother. If the father is not available, we can perform a fatherless test, which involves additional analysis, without additional charge.

http://www.dnacenter.com/dna-testing/maternity.html

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Dear Pallavi,

Thank you for this very interesting post.

When you say " whether a woman could be the biological mother of a child", does it imply that all a DNA test can ascertain is an overwhelming probability of parentage, but not certainty, unlike the case with, say, fingerprints?

Shyamala B.Cowsik

Originally posted by: pallavi25

Dear Shyamala,

Im not a doctor or nurse so I just googled on the subject of maternal DNA testing to find out more abt it. What I understood was...a child gets its DNA from both mother and father but generally father's DNA is matched because usually thats where the confusion rests.

But in this case, theres a doubt if the baby is Purvi's or Ovi's. So they will have to first match the dad's DNA strands which are half of the pattern, then match the other half with the mother's.

So if they compare Pari's DNA with both Ovi and Arjun, half wont match, if they test Pari's DNA with Purvi and Onir. half wont match ...😆 So QED ...

Heres more on the subject from the net:

How the Mother Strengthens Results

A Paternity Test checks up to 17 Genetic Systems (sometimes called markers or locations) looking for matches between the possible father and child. If he is the father, each location must show a match (with the exception of rare instances due to naturally occurring mutations).

2 Each match is assigned a number, a Relationship Index, which shows just how strong the match is:the higher the number, the stronger the match. All of the indexes are multiplied together to produce the Combined Paternity Index (CPI). If he is the biological father, the CPI must be at least 100 (at least 200 for immigration cases).

Paternity testing with just a father and a child usually produces a high CPI and a very high Probability of Paternity (usually 99.99% or greater if he is the father). However, somtimes the matches between father and child aren't strong enough for conclusive results. In these rare cases, IDENTIGENE asks for the DNA samples of the biological mother. With the mother, DNA paternity testing almost always provides a strong, conclusive result. Even when results are already conclusive, including the mother strengthens the result.

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Dear Pallavi,

Thank you for this very interesting post.

When you say " whether a woman could be the biological mother of a child", does it imply that all a DNA test can ascertain is an overwhelming probability of parentage, but not certainty, unlike the case with, say, fingerprints?

Shyamala B.Cowsik