Partner Article

Post-holiday surge for DNA testers

DNA experts in Sunderland have received a record number of enquiries for their paternity testing service during the first weeks of 2009.

The activity of the dadcheck DNA testing service, provided by Complement Genomics Ltd (CGL) at the North East BIC, has been growing steadily during 2008, but the unprecedented swell in activity since New Year has come as a surprise for CEO Louise Allcroft.

Louise said: “We have been astonished at the level of interest in DNA testing following the holidays. We were not able to fully predict how the credit crunch would affect the take up of our paternity services in the New Year, but the level of interest shown clearly indicates that people see resolution of relationship issues as a high priority.

“We know that this is a busy time for divorce lawyers, and the high number of enquiries that we have received indicates that this also applies to paternity and the DNA testing sector.”

The dadcheck service conducts tests to prove whether or not there is a genetic relationship between family members, most commonly paternity tests for parent and child. The nine-year-old company was accredited to the highest agreed laboratory standard, ISO/IEC 17025, in 2008, which has enabled them to take on court directed testing and much of the work now undertaken is on behalf of the legal profession.

The company was one of the first to launch internet based paternity testing, via its dadcheck website.

Louise said: “A rise in demand for the services we provide is of course welcomed at any time of year, but we also encourage parents to focus on what is best for children and not make hasty decisions that they may later regret.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .