TADTS DNA Testing

Texas Alcohol and Drug Testing Service, Inc. offers a variety of Specialized DNA Testing services, provided by Chromosomal Laboratories, Inc.

Paternity DNA Testing

Establishing paternity means being declared the legal father after the child is born. If the parents of a child were not married when the mother became pregnant or when the child was born, the child does not have a legal father until paternity is established.

Establishing paternity is important for both the child and the parents.  A child is entitled to the sense of belonging and identity that comes from knowing both parents. Establishing paternity often has an important emotional and psychological benefit for the child.  

Until there is a determination that a biological father is the legal father, the child has no right to receive financial support from the father, to inherit from the father or to obtain insurance, veterans’, social security or other benefits through the father.

Likewise, until paternity is legally established, the biological father has no legal rights to the child, such as parenting time with the child, or participation in major decisions about the child, such as medical treatment, education or religious training.

Additionally, genetic diseases are inherited, thus knowing your biological ancestry can be useful in proactive care and transplantation. Paternity laws tend to vary from state to state.

Collecting samples for DNA analysis is an easy and painless process that can be performed in the privacy of your own home, or at a sample collection site, if a court admissible test is required.  A sterile swab, similar to a Q-tip is rubbed on the inside of the cheek for 30 seconds, placed into an envelope and sent back to the lab for analysis.

Immigration DNA Testing

DNA testing is essential to the U.S. Immigration process. Under many circumstances visas will be issued more quickly once DNA test results are submitted.

United States citizens can petition for their spouses, parents, children or siblings to immigrate to the United States and permanent residents can do so for their spouses and unmarried children.

In most cases there are sufficient written records to validate relationships and satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services Department. If more evidence of a biological relationship is needed, a voluntary DNA test may be advised. Tests are typically requested for immigration and passports and sometimes for other reasons. It is important to ask the reason for testing, as that could dictate which U.S. agency is responsible for sample collection and receiving reports.

Grandparentage Test

A grand parentage test is often one of the better relationship tests to perform to determine paternity of a child.  The best testing scenario is a test which includes the mother, child and both of the alleged father’s parents (the child’s paternal grandmother and grandfather).  By including both of the alleged fathers’s parents, the alleged father’s DNA profile can be reconstructed.  Comparing the alleged father’s reconstructed profile against the child’s DNA, can allow this testing scenario to give results as accurate as a paternity test.

Each time a person is removed from the test, such as a grandparent or mother, the strength of the genetic evidence decreases, therefore testing all 4 individuals is the best testing option.

The fee for this test is based on the number of individuals tested.  Results are available 3-5 business days after receipt at the laboratory.

Siblingship Test

A siblingship test is useful for determining if individuals are full brother/sisters, half brothers/sisters or unrelated.  Whenever the mother(s) is/are known, it is strongly recommended that they be included in the test.  Including the mother(s) in the test can increase the results ten-fold, where you might see a probability of 98% instead of only 83%.

The fee for this test is based on the number of individuals tested.  Results are available 3-5 business days after receipt at the laboratory.

Twin Testing

Approximately one in every fifty Americans is a twin, two thirds of which are fraternal and one third identical.

Identical twins are formed when one egg is fertilized by a single sperm cell and then divides within the first few days of pregnancy. If division of the egg occurs after 8 days, this can result in conjoined twins, also known as Siamese twins.  Twins produced by this process are referred to as identical since their DNA sequence is identical.   While the twins are identical genetically, this often does not apply to the actual physical or behavioral traits. Generally their traits are similar, however they can differ. Fraternal twins are formed when two eggs are independently fertilized by two sperm cells. Fraternal twins do not have identical DNA but will have half of their DNA in common, just like siblings of the same parents that are born at different times. Fraternal twins can either be of the same sex or different sex.  The occurrence of fraternal twins varies substantially in frequency over the world.  They are common in the pregnancies of older women, especially common in Africans, and relatively rare among those of Asian heritage.

Twin classification done at delivery often results in misidentification.  For example, approximately 25-33% of identical twins have two sets of chorionic membranes.  Unless a DNA or other blood test was performed, it is difficult to accurately determine if twins are fraternal or identical.

The fee for this test includes 2 individuals.  Results are available 2-3 business days after receipt at the laboratory.

Maternity Testing

DNA testing can be used to confirm the biological relationship between a mother and child. The testing follows the same principles as in paternity testing.  This test is often useful in cases were a child has been separated by adoption or there is a concern that the baby was switched at birth.

The fee for this test includes the mother and a single child.  Results are available 2-3 business days after receipt at the laboratory.