(+1) 647 931 2711How to collecting DNA samples for my paternity test is really nothing to worry about. The procedure is pretty much the same nowadays independent of which DNA testing company you choose.
There is the at home paternity test or the legal paternity test. These two tests have some differences but the type of sample remains the same. In fact, both the legal test and the at home test will require you to submit a saliva DNA sample for laboratory analysis.
How do I collect samples for a DNA test: saliva
Saliva can be collected using a simple mouth swab which you can either buy from a pharmacy or that will be supplied by the DNA testing companies doing your test. In some case, if it proves impossible to get a proper, sterile oral swab, even a cotton bud can be used. Collecting saliva in this way is painless and simple. In fact, this is why home DNA test kits are so popular- you receive a kit at home containing oral swabs, follow a handful of basic steps and precautions and after you have collected your DNA samples you send it off for testing in the labs. If you do not carefully follow instructions, your paternity test result could well be affected.
In a legal test, oral swabs are still used. But instead of you taking your own sample, a neutral third party will need to take the swab and rub it inside your mouth and the mouths of other test participants; each person, of course, a different swab. Once this person (known as the sampler) has collected the samples and authenticated them (in other words confirmed that sample X came from person X), he or she will seal them in envelopes and send them off to the lab.
Paternity test with saliva: it used to be blood!!!
Along, long time ago blood was the standard sample for paternity testing. This was because previous testing methodologies needed large quantities of DNA to work with and thus, blood was the best sample to use since there are millions and millions of cells to work with in an average blood draw. Today, things are different; scientists can work with tiny DNA samples and successfully complete the test- think of films and forensic investigations: they can have enough DNA from a lip print on a glass or a used tissue.
You will be fully instructed on how to collect DNA samples for a paternity test but the information you get will not differ from that found in the article above.
