A Quick Guide to DNA Identification Kits

If you want to establish a legal chain of custody or avoid contamination from careless handling, a DNA identification kit would be useful. The use of DNA evidence was first used in 1985 and has since become a standard tool of law enforcement. DNA Identification Kits used by CSI technicians are generally part of much more extensive evidence collection kits, including tools for collecting things such as fingerprints and fibers.

Paternity Testing
For civilians, the most common use of DNA testing is to ascertain paternity. It can either be used in support of custody rights or to defend against suits for child support payments. Home DNA Identification Kits may be insufficient for legal purposes because of authentication and chain of custody issues, but test results can be confirmed under court supervision.

Genetic Predisposition for Disease
Standard tests reveal genetic predisposition to dozens of conditions. Sometimes couples wishing to avoid birth defects use this information to decide whether or not to have children. It is illegal in many jurisdictions for insurance companies to require DNA testing. This can be quite advantageous for people with serious medical conditions, since companies would either deny coverage altogether, exclude particular treatments, or raise their rates if they understood the full extent of the risk they were assuming.
Many laboratories offer comprehensive DNA testing for under $100 and guarantee 100% accuracy for excluding paternity. To establish paternity, rather than exclude it, experts claim an error rate of about one-thousandth of one percent if testing is properly done.
It is critical for laboratories to produce valid results consistently. One of the premier accreditation agencies, with some of the most rigorous requirements for security and quality, is the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), which uses the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. If a lab is accredited by NATA, you can be confident test results are accurate.