Over-The-Counter Paternity Test Draws Legal Concerns

Mar 26, 2008 by Eric Ray

(KCPW News) A Salt Lake City company began offering over-the-counter DNA paternity tests in 30 states across the country this week. The tests raise concerns within Utah's legal community.

Stewart Ralphs, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, says the tests would not hold up in court because there isn't an established chain of custody and the identity of donors could be questioned.

Doug Fogg, Chief Operating Officer of Identigene, the company offering the tests, says they aren't meant to hold any legal status. He says customers purchasing the tests usually do so in order to achieve peace-of-mind relating to their paternity or to the paternity of a child.

Click here to listen to today's Midday Metro conversation about the tests.

1. Marilyn said:

I work for Identigene and in my opinion the legal aid society should not be too concerned. We have the ability to make our paternity test admissible in court. The client needs to contact us and we creat a chain of custody for the samples. You can get more information on dnatesting.

Over-The-Counter Paternity Test Draws Legal Concerns

1. Marilyn said:

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