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Misattributed Paternity in Genetic Testing
The birth of a child is usually a happy event and the mother and father naturally assume that it is their child and think nothing more of it. However, a surprising percentage of births are misattributed to paternity – almost 20%. How does this information come about and should it be disclosed to the parents? In this article we'll examine this unusual phenomenon and show you how it usually comes about as well as how genetic counselors handle this situation.
Genetic tests may take place for a number of reasons. It could be ordered to help test for the presence of a genetic disease or to help a doctor diagnose the probability of future illnesses that are passed genetically. In addition DNA analysis is often done for identification purposes or to test for suitability for organ donation between parent and child. During these tests it may be determined that the father is not the biological father. This is a difficult matter to address, especially if the child is several years old.
Paternity is determined by analyzing the chromosomes of the child, mother and father. Half of the chromosomes come from the mother and the other half come from the father. By eliminating the half that came from the mother the other half should match up to the father. If they don't, then there is no chance that he is the biological father. DNA paternity is 99.99% accurate for inclusion and 99.8% accurate for exclusion. Therefore it is one of the best ways of determining true parentage.
When paternity is misattributed it can be a difficult subject to bring up with the mother and father. Situations such as this usually involve a genetic counselor or other type of family counselor who will approach the subject with care. Indeed, some argue that the subject should not be discussed at all should it be discovered. However, there are certain situations – such as the need for an organ transplant – where the topic must be addressed because of the magnitude of the situation.
Before the parents are notified further tests may be done independently to absolutely confirm the misattribution. Usually during this process the parents will not be notified of why the additional tests are needed or for what purpose. The number one goal of the doctor or other medical professional ordering these tests is to make sure that the misattribution was not a mistake made in the lab or because of a mutated genetic sample that may have been present during collection.
Genetic mutations can also lead to a false positive misattribution and the doctor will ask the lab to check for this. A genetic mutation can lead to one or two markers not matching in either the father or the child. There are a number of expanded tests that can be done in this situation to exclude mutation as the reason for the DNA markers not matching.
Although a difficult subject to address, if misattribution of paternity is confirmed must be handled in a professional, discreet manner. Often only the parents are told and they can then decide whether to tell the child or keep it amongst themselves. Of course, there may be other issues the parents need to address at that point, but many times the needs of the child are put ahead of issues behind the misattribution.