At Paternity For Life, we are following all advice provide by both the UK Government, local health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) and taking extra precautionary steps to ensure the health and safety of our laboratory staff and customer service team to minimise any disruption to testing
Please be advised our laboratory is still operational, and we are currently not experiencing any delays with processing of samples.
For our Legal Collection Appointments, Paternity For Life recommends using WJ Legal. WJ Legal is a Legal Forensic Sampling Company who can attend your home address for collection of your sample. All WJ Legal Sample Collectors are forensically aware and can safely and hygienically take all needed samples. Our collectors already enforce strict hygiene practices during collections but will be taking extra precautions over the coming weeks including the use of gloves, face masks and sterile wipes.
That being said, if you are experiencing any virus-like symptoms or have travelled overseas in the past 14 days, we recommend delaying your collection or rescheduling your appointment to a later date.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly staff on 0330 133 1944
In the UK, the removal, storage, use and disposal of any human tissue is regulated in the UK by The Human Tissue Act 2004. This includes the use of bodily samples for the purpose of paternity or relationship DNA testing. Under the act, it is a requirement that the person or donor gives their written consent for their sample to be tested. The donor of the sample must also be aware of how their DNA sample will be used. Failure to comply with The Human Tissue Act can result in up to 3 years imprisonment or a fine, or both
Paternity For Life operates in accordance with The Human Tissue Act and the Department of Health’s Code of Practice and Guidance on Genetic Paternity DNA Testing Services. As such, we will not accept testing if we do not have written consent from all persons to be tested. Testing will be put on hold until we obtain the necessary consent from all individuals.
To ensure we comply with these regulations, Paternity For Life will only accept buccal (mouth) swabs, where consent has been obtained from the donor. We do not process hair samples, toothbrushes, nail clippings or bodily fluids (such as semen) as we cannot be certain that express consent has been given by the donor. Furthermore, such samples are highly likely to be contaminated or give an incorrect or inconclusive result.
To read more about The Human Tissue Act, please click here.
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