Home DNA Testing
With advanced DNA technology, home DNA testing is accurate, rapid and affordable.
Home DNA testing kits are now advertised as available to buy online from around £99.00. There are a whole host of companies offering Home DNA testing kits, each with a selection of options regarding the number of individuals to be tested and the desired results response time. For a higher fee, results can be delivered within two working days.
Some companies offer free DNA testing kits. However this does not mean that their service is free. You will be required to pay for the laboratory processing fees for whichever test you have ordered.
Most home DNA test kits supply you with sterilised swabs to use to take what is known as a cheek (buccal) scraping sample from the individuals to be tested. If this sounds a little intrusive, think of it as simply ribbing a cotton bud around the insides of your cheeks. This picks up loose cells containing the test patient’s DNA.
The swab samples are then sealed and posted to a genetic laboratory for testing and analysis. The DNA testing company will then contact you with the results, usually within one week of receiving your samples.
Some testing kits prefer to use mouth wash or chewing gum to extract samples, however the tested cells are the same as those tested when using cheek swabs.
Tips for home DNA testing
When you’re paying for a service to give potentially life-changing results, it’s incredibly important to maximise the accuracy and reliability of your samples.
With this in mind, we’ve come up with a few tips to ensure your money is well-spent.
- Do not drink tea or coffee for 4 hours prior to sampling.
- Do not use any tobacco products 4 hours before collecting your sample; samples containing coffee, tea or tobacco residues may not process properly.
- Wash your hands before attempting to collect your samples.
- Rinse the patient’s mouth three times with warm water prior to sample collection.
- Before collecting a sample from an infant, allow them to drink water from a bottle or wait until two hours have passed since their last feed.