Paternity Tests Available At Pharmacies
By Anthony Gottschlich (Link)
Staff Writer
Monday, December 10, 2007
So you've got this nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, that cute little baby
in the arms of your girlfriend might not be yours.
But raising the possibility out loud, not to mention a $500 paternity test and a trip to the doctor's office, seems out of the question.
Now there's another option: Your local pharmacy.
A company called Sorenson Genomics out of Salt Lake City, Utah, began selling home paternity test kits last week in more than 1,000 Rite Aid and Meijer pharmacies in eight states, including Ohio. In the Dayton area for now, only Meijer carries the kit, which sells for $29.99 under the brand name Identigene.
"We just feel there are a lot of people that have a need to know and want to know the paternity of a child, and this is a very discreet, affordable and convenient way for people to get quick answers to those questions," said Doug Fogg, Sorenson's chief operating officer.
The test includes cotton swabs to collect cheek samples from the child, father and, if
desired, the mother. There's an extra fee of $119 to have the DNA sample
analyzed by Sorenson's labs.
Fogg acknowledged the results probably wouldn't hold up in court because of questions concerning whose DNA was submitted. So for an extra $200, Sorenson will help consumers set up independent testing to establish a chain of custody for the sample.
Wright State University biologist Dan Krane, a nationally recognized expert in genetics, said consumers shouldn't worry about the accuracy of such tests.
"Paternity tests these days are really becoming very standardized," Krane said.
Fogg, whose company has sold home paternity kits online for the last
decade, said Sorenson plans to go nationwide with retail sales of the kits in
early 2008.
I can just imagine that a bunch of those tests will be given on the low low.
