Reconstruction Parentage Testing

Many scenarios exist that may require the use of DNA paternity testing. Paternal relatives can often be used to establish paternity even if the alleged father is deceased or is not available for testing. The paternal relatives are used to reconstruct the genetic profile of the alleged father. The results of reconstruction DNA parentage testing may provide the necessary proof which will enable a child to receive Social Security benefits and other inheritance claims. In reconstruction parentage testing, a series of DNA tests are conducted to determine whether or not a child is related to the alleged father's close relatives. It is an indirect way to determine family relationships when the alleged father is not available for a paternity test. In reconstruction testing, the child's DNA profile is compared with the DNA profiles of at least two of the alleged father's close (first order) relatives. A first order relative may be a full sibling, a biological parent, or a previous legitimate child. Although each individual's DNA profile is unique, first order relatives will share a significant portion of their DNA profiles because of the hereditary nature of DNA. Due to the complex analysis required, the mother's participation is usually required in a reconstruction case. Individuals requiring reconstruction parentage testing should contact our laboratory to discuss the relatives required in order to provide the most informative results and potential limitations of this type of test.