A paternity test or maternity test commonly called DNA test is a genetic test done to determine the biological parent of a child.
DNA test in Zambia is done to determine who the father is to the child rather than finding out who the mother is.
Even though mothers are subjected to DNA test, occurrences are rare compared to that of a father.
The procedure is done for different purposes such as forensic, marital disputes, and clearance of false accusations on pregnancy.
For many years due to strong cultural norms and morals in Zambia, paternity tests were never common.
However, due to social change through modernization and other factors have led to infidelity, increased crime levels hence the need to make DNA test prominent.
In Zambia, the procedure is expected to increase spreading to government hospitals.
Technically DNA test involves matching the genetic code of the child to that of the father.
In this post, I will explain the DNA test requirements, Costs, how long it takes to have results, and which laboratories in Zambia offer the service.
How accurate is a DNA test
Although the majority of human DNA (99.9%) is identical in all persons, the remaining 0.1% varies sufficiently to allow for the identification of unrelated individuals and the confirmation of paternal relationships.
Certain genetic markers are compared between the child and the possible father in a paternity test using DNA.
Scientists can assess the possibility of a biological tie between the two people by examining these signs.
To establish or rule out paternity, this procedure is incredibly accurate.
Paternity test Requirements
For paternity test to be successful, the laboratory personnel makes sure the right requirement are available and meet the standard for increased accuracy.
Here are the requirements for the procedure:
- Both parents need to be present with their NRC or passport.
- A child with a birth record, certificate, or passport
- A court order is needed if not both parents are available due to some circumstances.
- A legal consent is written by the guardian if the child is not eligible to consent as per Zambian law.
- If a child's mother is dead, a death certificate is needed
How much is DNA test in Zambia
Not as expensive as some of you might have been thinking. DNA tests have been established for free or just a little fee by the Zambian government for the purpose of forensic analysis since last year.
However, to do a paternity test privately you are required to pay a certain amount of money.
Here are the fees according to Lancet Laboratories Zambia.
Father + Mother +Child costs about K 8450
father + Child costs about K5650
As above the requirements need to be met for the procedure to take place.
As you can see the DNA test is affordable it can only need you to save part of your income and the results can be so satisfying.
How long does it take to receive paternity test results?
After meeting all the mentioned requirements, the process begins with collecting samples and other important questions that will facilitate the procedure.
In the first place, the process takes about 2 hours later the sample is taken for genetic processing and you maybe need to wait for up to 4 weeks.
During this time you are needed to keep in touch with the laboratory so you get updates about how far they have gone with the procedure so as to make results available to you as soon as they finish working on the sample.
Which laboratories offer DNA tests in Zambia
There are several private laboratories that conduct DNA tests for different purposes.
We should note that different labs conduct different purposes of DNA tests.
Some of them only conduct the sibling's assessment test while other laboratories offer paternity DNA tests.
Lancet Laboratories Zambia is one of the known labs that provide such services.
AlphaBiolabs has a wide range of DNA tests from identifying biological relationships of mother, siblings, paternity and grandparents, and Y chromosomes including the prenatal paternity test.
Why is DNA test done?
A DNA test is not only used to determine who the biological father of your children is. It is a great procedure that can also be used to improve people's health.
Apart from paternity tests, DNA sequencing can be used in the following:
Screening test. Done to discover any abnormalities such as;
- Sickle cell disease
- Down syndrome
- Huntington's disease
Summary
Are you suspecting your woman cheated on you and many of your children look exactly like your landlord?
You may consider a paternity test to ascertain the credibility of your claims.
Laboratories in Zambia are ready to help in many DNA frauds that can save you from unwanted child support or help you bring out the evidence for biologically related crimes.
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