subject: Why DNA test to be carried out [print this page] Why DNA test to be carried out Why DNA test to be carried out
DNA, otherwise known as deoxyribonucleic acid, otherwise known on numerous science television programs as "the building blocks" which form the basis for every living organism on the planet, is a tricky business, particularly when it comes to DNA testing.
Once the stuff of science fiction, now inexpensive and quick DNA tests can be purchased on the internet for a small fee, and you can't turn on the TV mid-morning without someone on a chat show demanding to know who the father of his child is. Of course, the availability of DNA testing has proved to be something of a minefield, sparking widespread controversy, protest and in many cases, upset to the family involved.
A DNA test is carried out using a process known as buccal swabbing, where four swabs are taken (Two from the inside of each cheek) from each person. The results are then sent to laboratory, and if certain matches are found in the DNA, then a problem can be resolved or created. As well as the paternal or maternal testing, close relative DNA testing is available for tests to determine whether or not a person is grandparent, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew, siblingship testing and Twin or zygosity DNA testing, amongst many others.
There are many important reasons for a DNA test to be carried out. Some DNA tests are carried out for ancestry reasons, to determine a person's historical origins. Others are carried out to test for the likelihood of illnesses such as cancers, and DNA tests are also carried out for legal reasons, for example to provide evidence in court.
In 2005, an estimated 10,000 paternity tests were carried out each year. And while many of the checks for these tests were carried out by the CSA or Child Support Agency, there are also a number of internet DNA testing services available which can be carried out at home.
For many, "blood" parentage is still an important matter, linked to old traditions concerning identity and place in society, and the issue becomes even more complex when it is linked to the male psyche, with many internet DNA testing websites even appearing to target a sense of paranoia many fathers may be experiencing about the paternity of their child, with the feeling that, if it is not genetically "theirs", it is not theirs, full stop. And whatever issues arise from the results of a DNA test, DNA testing is not the measure of how well a child is loved or cared for. Indeed, the NHS website for paternity and maternity testing insists that if a DNA test is to be carried out, it needs to be, "in the child's interest".
This is not to suggest that DNA testing should be banned. It is not a clear cut problem, and therefore cannot have an equally defined solution. Whether adopted people, for instance, should be denied the opportunity to discover their biological parentage is just one of the questions being thrown into the already murky quandary concerning DNA tests, suggesting that perhaps tighter controls need to be made over DNA testing, and counselling offered to families who may not yet understand the implications of the results.
