Is It Possible for a DNA Sample to Be Switched or Tampered With?

DNA Test Tampering

If you are using a test that is admissible in a court of law, then it is extremely unlikely that any type of fraud could take place. Since the samples taken with an at-home test are mailed into a lab, the testers cannot verify who provided the samples. However, when the samples are collected directly at the testing facility, it leaves very little room for mistakes and that is why those are generally the only tests that are admissible in court.

The Importance of In-Person Sample Collection

According to Identigene, questions about paternity fraud are fairly common. One of the questions many people have is whether the potential father could switch his sample with someone else’s. That is why it is so important to use a test where the samples are collected in person.

Can Eating or Drinking Affect DNA Test Results?

In addition, you may be wondering whether or not a DNA sample could be manipulated by a person drinking or eating something that will affect the results. Samples are usually collected by swabbing a section on the inside of a person’s mouth. However, short of a bone marrow transplant in the recent past, there is no way that any food or drink would affect the DNA test of the person providing the sample.

DNA Testing Verifies the Sex of the Person Submitting the Sample

Finally, DNA testing done in a laboratory is usually tested to verify the sex of the person submitting the sample. Therefore, if the mother of the child was to submit her sample in place of the potential father, the lab would be able to identify that the sample came from a female and not a male. Also, if the sample for the mother and father were to be identical, that would alert the lab that something was amiss.

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