seeDNA's "Prenatal Paternity DNA Testing" was featured in the overseas medical journal MEDICAL TRIBUNE.

Featured in the Overseas Medical Journal MEDICAL TRIBUNE

December 2024 — "Prenatal Paternity DNA Testing," which examines the biological parent-child relationship with a fetus before birth, was featured in the Korean medical journal "MEDICAL TRIBUNE."

＼ Find out who the father is while the baby is still in the womb ／

The Actual Article (Korean-language article)

https://www.medical-tribune.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=207583

Summary of the Korean-language Article

Paternity testing is conducted to confirm the genetic relationship between a child and a parent. It is carried out by analyzing the profile match rate of specific DNA regions to investigate biological blood relationships.
It also plays an important role in situations such as adoption, custody, and the acquisition of a child's nationality.

In dramas and movies, paternity testing is often requested as evidence of infidelity, but overseas it is also used to check for mix-ups of sperm, eggs, and embryos during in vitro fertilization. Assisted reproductive technology has produced more than 12 million children worldwide as of 2023, and in the United States newborns conceived through assisted reproductive technology account for as much as 2% of all births in a given year, making it a fairly common procedure. However, more than 150 cases have been reported worldwide in which human error during the complex assisted reproduction process resulted in a woman becoming pregnant with and giving birth to someone else's child. As a result, demand for genetic testing to determine fetal paternity is said to be rising sharply.

Since a child inherits half of their DNA from each parent, a 50% match between the DNA profiles of the two subjects proves a biological parent-child relationship.
The most common method uses a swab that lightly rubs the inside of the mouth for about 10 seconds, but testing is also possible using body tissue such as hair or nails, or items used by the subject, such as cigarette butts or a toothbrush.
Prenatal paternity testing is a non-invasive method that analyzes fetal DNA in the mother's blood, comparing the fetal DNA profile with the man's DNA profile to confirm the parent-child relationship.
According to seeDNA, a specialized institution for DNA testing and genetic testing, prenatal paternity DNA testing differs from the invasive methods previously used, such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, in that it can be performed from early pregnancy and is said to be safe for both the fetus and the mother.
Unlike ordinary paternity testing, which uses about 20 DNA markers called STRs, this method uses 700 DNA markers called SNVs, so the accuracy of the test results is said to be extremely high.

According to seeDNA, "In Korea too, the number of in vitro fertilization procedures is increasing, and demand for this kind of fetal paternity testing is also growing. However, under the Bioethics and Safety Act, fetal paternity testing is prohibited in Korea. That said, current law does not regulate individuals directly requesting testing from an overseas laboratory and sending the mother's blood and the man's sample themselves."
However, they also note, "It is not easy for an individual to request testing directly from an overseas laboratory, since it requires using international medical courier services to send blood samples abroad and making international money transfers in the language of the destination country. Even so, it is presumed that several hundred prenatal paternity tests are conducted every year through laboratories outside Korea.
Among the testing institutions in Japan, there are some, like seeDNA, that take this situation in Korea into account by offering Korean-language websites, result reports, and consultations in Korean."
They further state, "Due to a lack of legal knowledge, most people wait anxiously for the 10 months until the baby is born before undergoing genetic paternity testing." They add, "seeDNA is working to make it easier for people in Korea to resolve the anxiety that can arise during pregnancy from various forms of assisted reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization."

seeDNA's Reassuring Support

seeDNA is a pioneer in DNA testing that developed Japan's first "prenatal fetal DNA testing" in 2016. It is a trusted and reliable DNA testing institution with a record of "zero" misjudgments.
If you have any concerns about the blood relationship between parent and child, or anxiety about a hereditary condition in your unborn baby, our DNA testing specialists are here to provide reassuring support, so please feel free to contact us.