What is DNA?

The scientific name for DNA is DeoxyriboNucleic Acid. DNA molecules contain the genetic information necessary for the organization and functioning of most living cells and regulate the characteristics and traits a person inherits from their parents. DNA is the biochemical molecule that produces chromosomes and genes. Specifically it is a molecule found in the nucleus of cells that encodes genetic information. The particular sequence of 4 chemical building blocks (nucleotides) determines an individual's unique genetic pattern. Every cell has 46 chromosomes, except the sperm cells from the man and the egg of the woman which only contain 23 chromosomes each. At the moment of conception, there are 46 chromosomes necessary to create a person. Therefore, a person receives half of his/her genetic material or DNA from the biological mother, and the other half from the biological father. By comparing the DNA profiles of the mother, father, and child, it can be established with a DNA paternity test with better than a 99.9% probability that they are biologically related to each other.

Today in our time, the use of DNA to solve criminal cases and as a means of exact indentification is what fingerprints and fingerprinting was to previous generations beginning in 1901 when Scotland Yard of England and the New York City Civil Service Commission adopted their use as an official means to identify and demonstrate the differences between people.

DNA Testing and

The Need to Know

Real-life Examples from GeneTree DNA Testing Center
(Since 1997 - The FIRST provider of at-home paternity test kits)

The Paternity Test

There are many reasons for DNA testing in modern society. While not the only DNA test available, the use of a simple paternity test to confirm the parentage of a child is the most widespread application of genetic DNA testing. Why would someone want a test for paternity? The easy answer is—to absolutely confirm a biological relationship between a parent and a child. Yet, there are complicated situations behind this seemingly straightforward question. Order a free testing kit here.  

“I recently found out that my wife had been with another man a few times early in our marriage. Well, I wasn’t exactly a saint back then either. That was a long time ago in our relationship and we truly forgave and forgot. The problem was, our son had been conceived around that time and I kept wondering if he was not my biological son. I tried to forget about it, thinking that I raised and loved him, so it didn’t matter. But the idea kept eating at me and was subconsciously undermining our relationships. So I had the paternity test done. You can’t imagine the relief I felt when I read the report that I am indeed his father. My nagging doubts are gone for good and we couldn’t be a happier family.” – Anonymous 

The Need to Know 

For a lot of people, having DNA testing done is a search for the truth. The need to “know for sure” is a running theme in many stories, and DNA testing helps to “put the mind at ease”. Many others have expressed similar emotions and the “nagging doubts” which caused them to seek genetic testing. Order a free testing kit here.

“A girl whom I'd dated off and on came to me with the news that she was pregnant.  I had never had a child in my life before and I began to panic.  What to do?!!  If true, this would impact my life forever! Before any decision could be made I had to KNOW for sure if the child was actually mine. When I called GeneTree, their staff was friendly and courteous, and offered answers to all of my questions.  I told them that I wanted to know if this child was mine without the mother knowing about it. They told me that this could easily be done and that they could overnight a testing kit to me.  Once the kit arrived, I followed the simple instructions that came with it and then sent the lab samples back to them overnight.  Now how easy was that?? A few days later, I received a letter from GeneTree with the DNA test results telling me that the child was over 99.99% mine. I can finally look into her eyes and feel at ease knowing that I did the right thing.”  – Tim McCoy  

Fast Answers - Within 10 Days

GeneTree’s simple paternity test answers most questions that our customers ask. The GeneSwab Paternity Test Kit is sent to your home absolutely FREE. Once the genetic clues are collected, customers send the DNA samples (along with payment for the service) to our lab for processing. Normally, it only takes 3-7 days to receive the answer. The process is fast, simple and affordable. Unfortunately, there are some that learn this the hard way. Order a free testing kit here.

“My ex-girlfriend told me that I might be the father of her child. Not knowing for sure was driving me crazy all throughout the 9 months of her pregnancy, but I helped her as much as I could and planned to have a paternity test done after the child was born. Little did I know, it wouldn’t be as simple as I’d thought. Every hospital and pathology lab in the city told me that I needed to go through child support, a process that could take two months or longer to get the results. There was only one place that accepted walk-ins and they were asking $600.00 cash to be paid in full at the time of service. Finally, I did some research on the Internet and came across GeneTree. It almost sounded too good to be true! So, I went ahead and ordered a paternity test kit. I received the results of my paternity test within ten days. I was pleased with the fast, affordable and professional service, and even happier to know for a surety that I am the Father. I would recommend GeneTree to anyone that is in this situation.” - Shawn Curran 

Affordable and Convenient

Shawn is not the first to be surprised with an unexpected pregnancy, nor is he the only one to discover that expensive hospitals and labs are not the best places to get questions answered. GeneTree was the first to offer at-home paternity tests to the general public, and in so doing, help relieve some difficult situations by making the process easy—even from long distance. Order a free testing kit here.

“GeneTree was a stress reliever for me! Being a military member stationed overseas made it very difficult for me to arrange a paternity test for my child born stateside. It would have been very costly for me to fly back to the states and take a one-on-one paternity test with my child. After researching several different paternity test companies, I found GeneTree was the most convenient and inexpensive. The GeneSwab test was simple to use and perfect for my long distance situation. In addition, after the test was mailed back to the company I received my results back within 10 days!  Now, I can allow myself to be a happy father without any doubts! Thanks GeneTree! “ - LaMorris Glover  

No More “Living in Doubt” 

Knowing the truth is always better than living in doubt. It is truly rewarding to help responsible people take corrective action for their mistakes. Unfortunately there are cases where dishonesty makes a bad situation worse. Entrapment in order to gain child support is a serious issue; one that, unfortunately, we see a lot. Sometimes people do wrong things for, what seems at the time, the right reasons. Extended family members may believe that they have the right to supplant a biological parent. While the “rights of individuals” are best left to the courts, DNA testing can help to clear up deceptions. It is unfortunate that we hear so many stories of people “being used” or “taken to the cleaners”. In these tough situations DNA testing can expose lies and clear consciences as well as win child custody and child support cases. Order a free testing kit here.

”My brother has 2 children from a previous relationship. The mother of the children recently died and the maternal grandparents refused to allow my brother to be in the children lives.  They claimed my brother was not their biological father and would not agree to a DNA test to help us prove otherwise. I heard about GeneTree from a friend and mentioned it to my brother.  Because of GeneTree, he was able to prove that those children were his. Now my brother not only has custody of my niece & nephew, but has a good relationship with their grandparents as well. Your services were great, your response time was excellent and your prices were reasonable. Because of GeneTree, my niece & nephew are only dealing with the loss of ONE parent instead of two.  Thank you so much for making us a happy family again.” - Anonymous 

“I'm married with two children, but am separated from my spouse. I've been paying child support for more than five years. Thanks to GeneTree I was able to do a private DNA test on both of my children. I was so devastated when I got the Paternity Analysis Report that I thought I was going to die. The Paternity Analysis Report read that the probability of paternity was 0% for both of my children. I took this case to court and the Paternity Analysis Report served as evidence. It was proven in court that this DNA test Analysis was true. The court dismissed the child support and freed me of all responsibilities. Thanks again GeneTree” - Pedro Hernandez.  

“A woman from my husband’s past decided to "confess" to my husband that he was the father of her 14-year-old daughter. It was something that was very upsetting to my family, as not only did this woman tell this to my husband but also chose to tell her daughter, who in turn told our daughter. It was something that we really did not believe but did not want to dismiss either in case it was true.  If my husband was truly the biological father we needed to accept parental responsibility for the sake of this child, and our two children needed to know if they had a sister or not. We feel everyone deserves to know the truth, especially the children. I found your web site and ordered the DNA kit immediately.  It took some time to convince the mother that this test should be done and the truth known so we could all handle this situation properly. We had mother & daughter come to our house and all three did the swabs and sealed their envelopes. It was very simple and painless. We did not want to upset this little girl anymore than necessary. The test came back showing a 0% probability of my husband being the biological father. We were not surprised at the results.  It was the best thing we could have done to put our minds at ease.  GeneTree gave us an affordable, painless and accurate way to find out the truth of a very personal and emotional situation. Thank you.” – Sondara Bowden 

“I used your services to determine if my son was indeed mine. My ex was spreading rumors that he wasn't, although she was quite happy to continue receiving child support payments from me. Now I know for sure that my son is mine, and the knowledge is a huge relief. Thank you GeneTree!” - Greg Hill 

Who Do I Resemble? 

Some stories we receive are from the other side of the coin. The account of a child seeking a biological parent is no less compelling. While the paternity test is the same, they are from a different perspective. Most want to know who they resemble, what their biological parents look like, and what traits they’ve inherited. They also want to find out whether they will have future health concerns, but in general, the theme that comes out most strongly is the need for a sense of belonging. For those children, DNA testing is a welcome doorway in which they can find their place in the world. Order a free testing kit here. 

“I am a 32 year old only child and have never known my father.  My mother became a single parent in the late 60's and never had a relationship with my biological father.  I had been told his name, and looked him up when I was 18 years old, only to have him tell me that he didn’t believe he was my father.  My hopes were dashed, and I spent a long time afterwards wondering what my real father, whoever he was, was like. I wondered who I looked like (since I don't resemble my maternal side), who's traits I shared, or if I was anything like my father at all.  I have gone my entire life not knowing how to fill out the family history portion of medical exams, or how to fill in my personal information sections (so many of them ask for your parents name and occupation). This is how it was when I finally found GeneTree. At 32, I decided to call my alleged father and ask him for a paternity test. Much to my surprise, he readily agreed. We did the test and knew within the month. As it turns out, he is indeed my biological father. Not only that, I found out that I have 4 new aunts and uncles, and whole group of cousins I never knew I had.  They have all been wonderful and have contacted me and welcomed me to the family. As for my father, he found out that he had me (he has no other children) and found out that he has a grandchild. GeneTree has taken away 32 years of worry and uncertainty. I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  I now know what most others take for granted.  If I had only known that this service existed earlier, I wouldn't have waited another day. Thank you so much! It really has been a life changing experience. “ - Michele Macaulay  

“When I was a young girl of 15 my Father showed me a photograph of a boy named Steven and his date at a H.S. Homecoming dance. Dad told me that he had been given the picture by the boy’s mother and that she’d implied that Steven was his son! My father shrugged this possibility off, but the instant my eyes scanned the photo I knew that this young man was my brother. Also, I found it quite odd that my Father would deny the accusation and yet still carry the picture around in his wallet.  Anyhoo, my father asked that I not tell anyone in the family of this nonsense.  I vowed to myself to find Steven somehow.  I had a little brother out there and we deserved to know one another.  I feared disrupting his life and planned to wait until we were adults to make my search for him serious. This past February, at the age of 25 I finally found my little brother. He is a mere year younger than myself and has a little son of his own. He was thrilled to learn he had a big sister and now calls me his angel. He said that I've made his life.  The tricky part was getting the rest of my father's family as well as my father himself to accept Steven as his son.  I took this matter into my own hands.  I went online to find someway to genetically prove to my father that Steven was his.  I came across GeneTree and my search was over.  Somehow, I got my father and new brother in the same room to perform the quick, easy and painless procedure.  One week after that I could finally prove to everyone else what I already knew with over 99.9% genetic proof. Thank You GeneTree!!!” - Erica Rodgers  

“I have known I was adopted, and have had a very good life with my adoptive family.  I have an older sister and brother and a younger brother.  In June 1993, when I was 23 years old, I found my birth Mother "Delores" in Arkansas. She told me that she had been married with 3 young children when she became pregnant with me, but her husband was not my birthfather.  It was actually her husband's brother, "John", who was my birthfather. John's sister and mother have always told me that they did not think he was my birthfather.  They said that Delores had slept around a lot and my birthfather could be any number of men. They even gave me the name of another man who had been with Delores at the same time. This gave me doubts as to whether or not John was my birthfather. Because of this, I wanted to do a DNA test with him. When I approached John about doing a DNA test, he was not willing to do it. He said he would be very upset if it turned out after all these years that he was not my birthfather. For awhile I forgot about doing DNA, but I still had all these doubts in the back of my mind. Finally, this year, I looked up DNA testing on the internet and found GeneTree.  I was very excited to see that GeneTree had testing that could be done on cigarette butts, since John is a heavy smoker. I ordered the free testing kit through the mail and the next time John came to visit, I collected about 5 of his cigarette butts from the ashtray, and sent them in to be tested along with my DNA from my cheek swabs.  It only took about 2 weeks and I had the results in my e-mail.  John was found to have a 90% possibility as my birthfather, which was good enough for me!  Because of the confidentiality of GeneTree, neither John nor Delores knows that I did the DNA test, which is how I want it.  I have both peace of mind and privacy. After all these years I finally have the security that my birthfather is who I thought he was.  My doubts have been put to rest and this has been great.  Thank you GeneTree!” - Anonymous 

Being Discreet 

The previous account highlights a subject that is of extreme importance. Confidentiality is a high priority for many of our clients, so it is always standard procedure for us at GeneTree. Some people want to avoid discord in their immediate or extended families. Others want to discreetly find out the truth about a family secret that has been kept hidden for many long years. We understand that many of the situations requiring DNA testing may be embarrassing, secret, or problematic, and as such are best kept confidential. Still there is the over-powering need to “get proof” even when only one or two people will ever know. Since so many people ask that we be discreet, all our communication to customers is geared with that in mind. You can be sure that our service is safe, and all packaging is non-descript. You will also find our phone representatives helpful and sensitive to your particular situation. Order a free testing kit here.

“We ran the test to confirm that my step son was in deed my husband's child from his 1st marriage, as his 1st wife would not (or could not) confirm it for us. We got the test kit and within days did the test. We were both overjoyed with the results. Our son is indeed my husband's child and we were able to find this out without having to deal with his ex-wife. Thank you for helping us find the answer to a long overdue question, 8 1/2 years to be exact. I couldn’t believe how quick and easy the whole process was. Thank you again from some very grateful customers.” - The Kasper Family  

“In July of 1999, a grown woman contacted my husband claiming to be his daughter.  We tried to handle the situation as best we could with out DNA testing but it proved too complicated.  We bounced back and forth--did she look like any member of his family?  Was the timing right?  Is this something we wanted in our lives?  Could the claim be ignored?  We went on like this for at least a year.  I can't tell you the problems we encountered, from family to friends.  The ‘problem’ divided the entire family.  I contacted Gene-tree through the internet and received the at home test kit.  The instructions were so very simple and the cost very reasonable.  Within a few weeks we had our answer.  No more speculation or opinions from anyone.  She was his daughter.  Thanks to Gene-tree, a grown woman found her Father, a father got to know a daughter he didn't know he had.  The "new" daughter also got a bonus. She had been an only child, now she had a sister.”  - Anonymous  

“In my husband's eyes our son's paternity has always been in question.  I have known all along that Casey was his, but thanks to GeneTree a lot of sleepless nights, worries, concerns, and trust issues have been resolved. We are both semi well known professionals in our community so the anonymity GeneTree provided was very helpful in our situation.  It was fast, easy and reliable.  Thank you GeneTree.” - MDS  

Needing Proof 

While confidentiality is the prime directive for us at GeneTree, not all of our clients want to keep a secret. Once the proof is given, some clients want to shout it from the rooftops. These are people looking for proof to convince others. There are many instances where DNA testing is used to protect the family unit, save marriages, and improve family relations. Order a free testing kit here.

“It had been three years before I told my husband that I had cheated on him, and even though I knew there was no possibility that our son was not his, he was concerned. After all, he had raised him for two and a half years. So, I agreed to have a paternity test done. I found GeneTree’s website and it was the only one that sent you a free kit without a payment or entering your credit card. I received it in less than a week and sent the samples back as soon as we could afford the service. Shortly, we had the results I had been waiting for. Our son was OURS, not just mine alone. My husband was so relieved. – Carrie Aubrey 

“I was 19 and my husband 22 when we married. We had four children, 1970, 1975, 1978 and 1980.  All of my children look Italian like my husband except my daughter who was born in 1978. She had blond curly hair and blue eyes (I have blue eyes but not blond hair). People have commented since she was about 2 years old and joked about "where did she come from".  Since she heard this all her life and was even teased by her brother and sisters as being adopted this really bothered her and I decided to settle this once and for all and shut everyone up.  And yes she is our child.” - Anonymous 

“My husband had always questioned whether my stepson was actually his child as, according to the story, he and his first wife had only had sex one time that final year of their troubled marriage. I felt like my husband used this concern as an excuse for lavishing his attention on his daughter, born three years before his son. His daughter had been spoiled since the day she was born and I often found his son brushed aside. Having been a "brushed aside" child myself I felt really sorry for the poor kid and grew tired of hearing "Well, I don't even know if he's really my son..." I said to my husband- "what if you treat him this way his whole life just to find that he really IS your son? Let's find out so that you can either be justified in your actions or so you can start to love your son the way a son needs to be loved." My husband agreed to genetic testing but said that he was 90% sure that this boy was not his son. We completed the test and found that this boy was INDEED his son. The boy was 6 at the time. He has been able to spend the rest of his childhood as my husband's son and my step daughter has had to deal with being one of two children and has become a little less spoiled. The change it’s made in my husband's perception of his child was worth a million. Going to GeneTree is probably the best thing that I ever did for my stepchildren.” - Dr. Hinojosa  

“My son's father is a 31 year old truck driver who thought he would never have a child of his own.  He was believed to have been sterile.  A picture of my children e-mailed to a High School friend changed his life forever. He finally had hope and a reason for living, yet was still cautious since he had believed he was a father before and turned out he wasn't.  After seeing this little boy he knew he had a son, but confirming it with a paternity test still needed to be done.  When the results came in, this man's dreams and hopes were answered.  It was official, he was a dad. The one thing he thought he would never have, he got.  I have never known a person that deserved this more then him.  He has missed out on almost 5 years of his son's life, but to see them together, you would never know it. Thanks GeneTree for bringing a father and son together.” - Anonymous 

Paternity testing is a rapidly growing practice that mixes genealogy with DNA based testing. These new applications are changing the way we look at ourselves, our family relationships, our origin and our future. The testimonials above capture just a few of the reasons why someone would be interested in determining their relationship to another person, but there are more. Using the powerful methods of DNA fingerprinting we are capable of accurately and conclusively answering questions needed to solve crimes, determine adultery, construct family trees , resolve immigration issues and identify people. It is the brave new age of DNA testing that will not only uncover the keys to cures for disease, but leave us with no place to hide.  

If you have a similar need or dilemma, order your FREE GeneSwab Home Paternity Test now. Here are the three easy steps showing how you can receive your FREE kit:  

STEP 1: Click on this link: http://www.genetree.com/product/dna-paternity-testing.asp?c=affiliate

STEP 2: Fill out the electronic form by typing your information in the fields provided. Please double check your shipping address and any contact information.  You do NOT need to enter a credit card.   

STEP 3: Click submit. That’s all!