OUGHTOBE

This Identigene DNA Paternity Test Kit costs $29 and comes with a $119 laboratory processing fee. Rite Aid, (which also owns Eckerd stores) rolled out national sales of the over-the-counter paternity tests at more than 4,300 stores in 30 states, including more than 10 stores in the Atlanta metro area.
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The kits are currently not available in the New York area.

Users swab the inside of the mouth to collect a DNA sample which is then sent to Identigene with consent forms and fees in a postage-paid return envelope. Confidential results, available in three to five business days of receipt, can be obtained via mail, e-mail, or through a secured web site.

‘It raises some benefits and some detriments,’ said Julianne O’Daniel, a research and genetic counseling associate in at Duke University’s Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy.
‘Individuals that may not be able to afford testing otherwise may be able to if they have this kind of question.’ On the other hand , she said, ‘Having it in a store kind of raises the prevalence of this testing in people’s minds.’

In order for the Identigene paternity test to stand up in court, users can pay an additional fee for the company to refer them to a DNA collection site that will verify identities and oversee the sample taking.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 6:07 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.