DNA Debates Continue, Strangely Paternity Overlooked

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) DNA paternity testing has been missing from the controversy about D2C genetic testing hitting the news lately. The FDA has held multiple public comment sessions on consumer genetics. A task force report commissioned by the American Society for Human Genetics has called for better oversight of ancestry DNA tests. Yet paternity, with arguably the most important impact, has not even garnered a mention.

Many Americans do not realize that accreditation for parentage testing is voluntary and that no accreditation process exists for home paternity tests. Although most AABB accredited labs such as Genelex voluntarily apply the same scientific rigor to self-collection tests as they do the legally collected samples, no guidance exists. As America argues over whether people understand the shortfalls of tracing ancient genealogy, or whether they should be allowed to know that a genetic variation may increase their chance of heart disease, no one has stepped forward to make certain that tests that determine your parentage are passing muster. Yet, most physicians would agree family history is a key predictor of health. DNA paternity testing has been around for 20 years so maybe it is not as sexy as the new tests on the scene, but it impacts hundreds of thousands of Americans every year, and the impact of lack of quality is much further reaching.