Meijer and Rite Aid stores sell the first over-the-counter DNA paternity test kit that costs $29.99. The kit includes cotton swabs for taking cells from inside the mouth of the baby, mother and a man. Then they have to be sealed in plastic bags, sent with a consent form and $119 laboratory fee. These are sent to Identigene for analysis. The result, which has 99.99% accuracy, can be accessed online after three to five working days.
"We felt there was a segment of the market not interested in involving attorneys or physicians and simply want to have questions pertaining to paternity of a child answered in a convenient, affordable way," said Doug Fogg, chief financial officer for kit-maker Identigene and parent company Sorenson Genomics.
The paternity test kit is already a hit in California, Washington and Oregon states, where they have been selling on a trial basis since November, Identigene said.
Buyers of the test kit include women who want to know the identity of their child's father and people looking for their parents.
The paternity kits are not permitted as evidence in court, where a costly and more accurate DNA tests are required.
