College Times

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A Texas-based company has begun offering DNA paternity test kits sold over the counter at stores in select states across the US. The tests, allow Americans to figure out who’s the daddy all for $29.99 (plus a $119 for processing fees) all from the confines of their home, apartment or dorm room.

The revolutionary daddy-detector goes by the name Identigene and is the product of its parent company Sorenson Genomics. The DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit supplies buyers with cheek swabs for the child, alleged father and biological mother as well as a postage-paid envelope addressed to the Identigene DNA testing laboratory accredited by AABB Parentage Testing.

Once each person’s cheek is swabbed, users simply slip the swabs into a small, sterile envelope and mail it in the larger, postage-paid envelope. They can expect an answer 3-5 business days after the lab receives the samples.

So who is using the time-efficient test?

According to Doug Fogg, the Chief Operating Officer of Identigene, “An informal Identigene survey showed 60 percent of those who are purchasing the tests are young women who are typically in their 20s. Women in their 20s (may be the majority utilizing the test because) they have multiple partners at one time or pregnancy may occur during a transition from one partner to the next and they have no idea who the father is.

“In my experience listening to customers’ testimonials, there are a myriad of reasons but when it comes down to it I think it is innate human nature to want to know who your mother and father are.”

Besides satisfying curiosity and achieving peace of mind, one can’t help but wonder how Identigene’s at-home test would hold up in court when seeking say, child support.

“If customers decide after they purchase and take the at-home test that they want to pursue legal action then we ask them to call us for a retest and set up specimen collection with a legal independent third party for an additional $200,” Fogg said

Identigene is currently available at Rite Aid pharmacies and Meijer stores across the nation, but only in 31 states and Arizona isn’t one of them.

When can we expect the kits here?

 “We’re in discussions with all major pharmaceutical retailers,” Fogg said. “Hopefully by mid-summer to early-fall.”

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