The World Leader in Private DNA Testing

Editor’s Note: This article was originally written for the Guest Blog on Adoption Under One Roof’s website. Adoption Under One Roof is an organization dedicated to covering adoption from every angle, every view, for everyone.

When surrogacy or Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is used to bring a life into the world, it is always a good idea to take a DNA parentage test to verify the biological relationship between the child and the supposed biological parents. Pre-emptive legal procedures based on the DNA testing results can help to complete either a traditional or gestational surrogacy process. A DNA test can avoid any future disputes over custody, parental rights and other originally unforeseen legal issues following the child’s birth.

First, DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC) can perform DNA testing for surrogacy and ART attorneys, as well as individual clients in gestational surrogacy cases. In gestational surrogacy, an embryo formed through in vitro fertilization using egg and sperm cells from a couple is implanted into a surrogate mother because the biological mother of the child can’t carry the embryo in her own womb. The couple is intended to be the legal parents for this child. Sometimes, our clients desire to confirm that the correct embryo was implanted at the fertility lab. Often times, our clients simply want to verify that the embryo is not a product of a chance conception by the surrogate and her husband or partner. In any circumstance, verifying biological parentage through a DNA test can assist in the legal paperwork necessary to establish legal parental rights for the intended parents and ensure that their names appear on the child’s birth certificate. Additionally, the test can always provide peace of mind for the surrogate and biological parents in this situation.

DDC also routinely performs DNA testing for traditional surrogacy cases that may require adoption procedures to establish the intended parental rights. For example, DDC has performed DNA tests for situations in which the surrogate also served as the egg donor for a couple who may or may not have contributed any genetic materials for the embryo—in this instance, the couple needed to adopt the child after birth. A DNA test can confirm the maternity and/or paternity of the child, therefore assisting adoption attorneys with necessary information to complete the adoption.

While these are general scenarios, no matter what the situation, DDC guarantees 100 percent accurate DNA testing to prove or disprove any biological relationship in question in surrogacy cases.

DNA Diagnostics Center offers prenatal DNA testing services, which some of our surrogacy/ART clients choose to use because it will answer any biological relationship questions before the child is born. As is true with any of our DNA paternity test cases, DDC can also arrange for DNA testing to be performed right after the child’s birth, or even years after birth. Please visit our website to contact DDC to discuss your unique situation with one of our case specialists to determine what DNA testing option could be right for you.

As the end of the summer nears, students and teachers alike prepare for the start of another school year. This is a perfect time of year to remind educators and parents of school-aged children that DDC’s DNA Education Corner contains dozens of activities meant to educate and entertain even the youngest budding scientist about DNA testing and other DNA-related topics.

Educators and parents can find activities for students in grades kindergarten through 12 in our DNA Education Corner. From grade-level appropriate activity pages to fun activities like constructing an origami DNA helix, our Education Corner educates and informs in a variety of ways.

Everyone at DDC would like to wish our clients and colleagues a safe and productive academic year.

DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC) has done it again—the world’s largest private DNA testing laboratory has achieved another perfect rating after a surprise inspection by AABB, the organization that sets industry standards for family relationship testing in the United States.

Last week, the lead assessor from the AABB carefully examined DDC’s performance in the many crucial areas of laboratory compliance, including lab safety, quality of testing, results, client care and confidentiality. DDC received a “zero-deficiency,” or perfect, rating in each category.

DDC’s Laboratory Director Dr. Michael Baird shares his thoughts on this impressive feat in the official DDC press release, found in DDC’s online press room.

Russian authorities confirmed yesterday that the bone fragments found last year belonged to Alexei and Maria, the last two members of the Romanov family whose fates remained in question.

The rest of the royal family’s remains were found in 1991 at a burial site in Yekaterinburg, Siberia.

Historical accounts say that on July 17, 1918, Communist guards lined up and shot Nicholas, his wife, Alexandra, their five children and four attendants in a small basement room in a nobleman’s house in Yekaterinburg. The bodies were loaded in a truck and disposed of first in a mine shaft, according to most accounts. Other reports indicated that the bodies of nine victims (the family, a doctor, and a nurse) were doused with sulfuric acid and buried along a road, while those of Alexei and a sister were burned and left in a pit nearby.

In August of last year, possible remains for Alexei and his sister were found in a burned area in the ground near Yekaterinburg.

The identity of the remains, in both cases, were confirmed using mtDNA comparison testing.

The Tsar’s remains were identified by comparing the mtDNA extracted from the skeletal remains with that of James, Duke of Fife, who was maternally related to the Tsar. Samples donated by Prince Philip of England helped identify the remains of the Tsarina and three of her daughters, who were of the same maternal line. No skeletal remains were found for the 2 youngest Romanov children at the time.

When the second set of remains were found, mtDNA was then extracted and compared with the genetic material of the czarist family from the remains found in 1991.

As reported in a Columbus Dispatch 5-day investigative series published in January 2008, “Test of Convictions,” Ohio is in the midst of an unprecedented undertaking to re-examine certain eligible rape and murder convictions statewide. This yearlong investigation by Dispatch reporters together with the Ohio Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic staffed by University of Cincinnati law students and supervised by a team of attorneys, yielded 30 cases with what they considered to be legitimate claims of innocence. The Ohio Innocence Project has since filed motions to have the evidence tested, and the DNA analysis has begun.

DNA Diagnostics Center plays a crucial role in this project because DDC is providing DNA testing for these services at no charge. DDC is strictly interested in the pursuit of justice and is working with both sides of each case as the legal system works to determine each inmate’s guilt or innocence through DNA analysis.

As of June 2008, The Columbus Dispatch has reported that 14 of the 30 eligible cases have been approved for testing by a presiding judge and the prosecutor’s office. After the case has been approved for testing, DDC works with the State of Ohio’s crime and forensics labs to obtain the evidence using strict chain of custody procedures.

When the evidence arrives in our laboratory in Fairfield, Ohio, DDC’s team of scientific experts carefully prepares the evidence for examination, performs any applicable serology tests for fluids or stains, extracts the stain for even the most minute DNA samples that may be present, and analyzes the DNA using the most advanced technology available. Once the DNA analysis is complete, a forensic scientist reviews and interprets the results and consults with the client’s attorneys and the prosecutor’s office to determine if or when next steps should be taken. DDC’s lead forensic scientist, Dr. Julie Heinig, may also be called to testify in court about the DNA evidence should the need arise.

For more information on cases that have been approved for DNA testing, or the Columbus Dispatch’s series, read “The Test of Convictions.” For information on Forensic DNA testing, visit the DDC Forensics website.

As July 4 approaches, we remember and thank the service men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces stateside and overseas. At DNA Diagnostics Center, we are honored to serve those who serve our country.

We are pleased to offer special accommodations to service men and women who may find themselves in need of DNA testing services. Whether one party or both parties are members of the military, our client care team can assist you with setting up a collection appointment at a one of our partner locations near you, even if you are states or countries apart.

Like all of our cases, all DNA testing is confidential, but if a soldier, marine or naval officer requests us to do so, we can even work with military representatives to ship DNA testing kits to commanding officers on military bases should the need arise. We will then arrange for tamper-proof shipment to our World Headquarters in Fairfield, Ohio, and will have the DNA test results ready three business days after we receive the DNA cheek swab samples.

If you or someone you know is serving in the U.S. military and needs DNA testing services, please call 1-800-613-5763 to discuss your unique situation with a case manager. All calls are confidential.

The staff and partners of DNA Diagnostics Center thank the men and women of the U.S. Armed Services for all they do to serve the U.S.A. at home and abroad.

DDC was recognized Friday, June 20, as the Fairfield Rotary Club’s 2008 awardee in its annual Ethical Business Awards Luncheon.

The award, jointly presented by the Rotary Club and the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, seeks to recognize businesses who demonstrate leadership in the following areas:  ethical leadership, concern for the customer, integrity, respect, and loyalty.

“We are quite impressed with the passion for ethics shown by the top leadership of your company and the manner in which it has been implemented throughout your organization,” says Chris Kendall, Club President, in a letter written to DDC.

Read more about the awards ceremony in the Journal News.

DNA Diagnostics Center is pleased to announce the recent launch of its Personal DNA Test Advisor on its homepage. The tool is designed to help potential clients find the right DNA test for their situation, and provide information on each type of test so users can determine which type of test they need.

“The goal for the Personal DNA Test Advisor was to create a quick, three-step process to aid customers in finding the best DNA test to suit their needs,” said User Experience Specialist Russ Lamkin, who designed the tool. “We know that choosing a DNA test can be difficult at times, and so we hope the advisor is yet another way we can meet our clients’ needs.”

First, users will select whom they need to identify (a father, mother, or sister, for example). Second, the users will select the reason they are seeking a DNA test from a provided list. Finally, when they click “Submit,” the Personal DNA Test Advisor directs them to the web page that contains information on the most appropriate DDC DNA test for them. Clients then have the option to order a test online or call DDC’s toll-free number to speak with a case manager.

A Mountain View, Calif., man will finally be able to celebrate this Father’s Day after a 15-year-long battle to find and secure U.S. citizenship for his long-lost daughter from the Philippines. To celebrate Father’s Day, DNA Diagnostics Center paid off his DNA testing fees, just days before his daughter’s deadline for immigration was up.

Michael Skipwith knew he had fathered a daughter while stationed at Subic Naval Base in the Philippines in 1992; his child was due to be born in November that year, but in October, Skipwith was transferred from Subic and never heard from the mother of his child again. He spent ten years searching for his daughter Michelle, and another five years petitioning American Citizen Services for her citizenship.

The last step in the immigration application process was a DNA test that would prove that Skipwith and Michelle, now 16, are in fact father and daughter–a fact American Citizen Services requested to be biologically proven through a DNA test before they would approve the application for immigration.

On June 6, Michael Skipwith received a phone call from DNA Diagnostics Center, the DNA laboratory he initially contacted in April to perform this requested immigration DNA test. DDC had paid off the remaining balance on his case’s account as part of their annual “Father’s Day for All Fathers” campaign. Skipwith’s previous balance was reduced to zero, and DDC further assisted him by immediately forwarding the DNA test results to the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines capital of Manila.

“I’ve spent a lot of money in the past five, six years, thousands of dollars I just didn’t have,” Skipwith says. “I wasn’t able to pay for the test all at once. Last week, the U.S. Embassy said if we didn’t have the results by the 12th of June, we would have to reapply. Then Jason (from DDC) calls, and he just wanted to forgive the whole balance. He was the greatest luck we’ve had, because all they (U.S. Immigration Services) were waiting on was the DNA. Now they are ready to issue her the Passport, and she can apply for citizenship.”

DDC does not release DNA test results until the testing fee balance has been paid off, which meant that Skipwith and his daughter’s immigration case could not move forward. Based on Skipwith’s case history and financial circumstance, as well as the looming June 12 deadline for his daughter’s immigration paperwork, DDC decided he was the perfect candidate for their annual “Father’s Day for All Fathers” balance relief program that DDC spearheads every June.

“When forgiving balances before Father’s Day, we hope to contact those with a great need and Mr. Skipwith certainly fell into that category. His years of determination show his strong desire to provide his daughter the opportunities being an American citizen brings,” Client Care Manager Jason Judd said. “It was our pleasure to not only perform the test, but also to ensure he received the results before the deadline.”

Skipwith will be reunited with his daughter for the first time this summer. He leaves for a trip to the Philippines on June 27. Michelle will not move to the U.S. with him right away, Skipwith says, but will wait until her academic year in the Philippines is over.

One of the most common questions DDC’s client care team receives is regarding cost. Understandably, our clients want to be sure they are receiving a high-quality, accurate and reliable DNA test that is right for them, at a price they can afford.

DDC’s standard DNA paternity test fee is $475. This standard paternity test is also known as a “Trio Test,” because it consists of testing three people—the child, the mother and one alleged father. (The price is the same for a test without the mother, but it is strongly recommended that she participate in the testing if possible so our scientists can more precisely compare half the child’s DNA to the alleged father.)

Our clients often say they choose DDC because—for something so important and life-changing as a DNA test—paying for a cheaper test while being unsure of the lab’s quality or of the test results’ accuracy is not a risk they are willing to take. They choose DDC because of our many advantages, including our proven accuracy and expertise, our fast turnaround times, and our accessibility.

There are several things to take into account if you are comparing prices of DNA tests throughout the industry.

1. DNA Diagnostics Center is a fully accredited laboratory. Many labs claim to be accredited by organizations like the AABB, but some actually barely meet the standards these organizations require, or often, do not meet them at all, because their focus is on cutting costs rather than on quality. To view all of DDC’s laboratory accreditations and awards, please visit our accreditations page.

2. All of our DNA tests are legally defensible, which means they are recognized by U.S. courts nationwide and government agencies around the world. In order to produce DNA tests that the courts recognize as valid and accurate, DDC must follow very strict procedures called “the chain of custody” to preserve DNA samples and guarantee the results are 100 percent accurate. These additional steps require additional staff and protocols to make a legally defensible test possible.

3. Because we run each and every test twice using our unique Dual Process™ technology, we can absolutely guarantee 100 percent accuracy in our results. Our tests have stood up to scrutiny in some of the most complex DNA testing cases of our time, like the Anna Nicole Smith case in 2007 and countless others.

4. DDC works with the largest network of collection sites of any laboratory in the world. We have thousands of locations nationwide where out clients can have their DNA samples taken by trained professionals, and we routinely work with embassies and other government agencies around the globe to assist in immigration or international adoption cases. This means that no matter where you are, or what your DNA testing needs are, DDC has a location near you.

5. We have a client care team that can assist our clients every step of the way—from ordering their test to interpreting their results, a real person is always waiting in our call center to assist our clients.

With all of the above factors, DDC assures that you will receive the highest quality DNA testing at affordable costs. Additionally, clients can start a test with only a $100 partial payment, and pay the rest of the balance over time.

For more information on DNA paternity testing at DDC, and our fees, please visit our Paternity Testing page. You may also want to visit our DDC Advantages Resource Page for a more complete list of the advantages of choosing DDC.