Forensic Services FROM £55

The Human Tissue Act

It is important to be aware that in the UK the Human Tissue Act regulates the collection and analysis of any human tissue. This includes any stain of biological material not matter how small. In order to send a sample for analysis, the person or donor of that sample must give their consent in writing in order for us to test their sample. Furthermore, in order to be fully compliant with the Human Tissue Act, the donor of the sample must also be made aware of how their DNA sample will be used. used. Failure to comply with the Human Tissue Act is a criminal offence.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Consent and photographic ID from all parties is required in order to perform a test with a non-swab sample. It is a criminal offence to test a person’s DNA without the informed consent of the person from whom the sample came. We cannot process any samples submitted without the full consent and ID of all participants.

We can only guarantee standard result turnaround time when testing takes place solely using oral swab samples. Using a forensic sample may lead to an increase in turnaround time.

About the above table

Ensure to read our recommendations about collecting and packaging the samples. This will help preserve the DNA and work towards increasing the chances of successful DNA extraction. We strongly suggest you follow our guidelines hereunder provided.

The success rate: this is a very important parameter when we consider the validity of a DNA sample. What we first need to do is estimate how likely it is that the sample in question will yield a DNA profile. If you are carrying out a paternity test or a relationship test, failure to extract a DNA profile from the sample will mean that we are unable to proceed and determine whether the people tested are biological related.

The most important thing to note is that the success rate refers to the statistical probability of extracting a DNA profile from the sample – it does not in any way affect the accuracy of the test result. For example, a paternity test result will show a probability of paternity of 99.99% if the tested man is the biological father and 0% if the tested man is not the biological father. These percentages will not change whatever sample is used for the test.

What other factors determine the cost?

The prices you see on our order page or web pages are the standard test prices for analysis using saliva samples (collected with buccal swabs), see our sample collection procedure for more information about this aspect of your test. The prices in the table above need to be added to the cost of the test as seen on our order page. A standard paternity in South Africa for alleged father and child is R2495. If you use one forensic sample, you will need to add the cost taken from the above table to the R2495.

Factors affecting the test’s success rate

Given our years of experience in the field, we have a very good track record and consistently achieve the best results in all our tests. In some cases however, samples may fail to produce the genetic markers required (the sample may be too old, there may be too little genetic material etc). Prior to the test, our guidance will give you a fair idea of the success rate. In the rare cases samples may fail, in this case we offer the client a chance to retest at a discounted price.

Forensic extraction of DNA from samples provided is done using an advanced DNA replication and amplification system known as PCR (or polymerase chain reaction). We use this method for all our extractions in forensic tests.

We strongly suggest reading our Terms and Conditions by visiting this page.