On August 7, 2018, a segment on "Mezamashi TV" featured our company, and it contained some statements that could be potentially misleading. We would like to provide a correction and report the accurate information.
【Narration】
The procedure is that a company sends a testing kit, the mother has blood drawn at a nearby hospital, and it is sent to the company together with the man's sample.
Samples are usually collected by running a cotton swab along the inside of the cheek to gather skin from inside the mouth, but there are actually other methods as well...
Testing can also be performed using saliva adhering to hair, a toothbrush, or even chewing gum or wooden chopsticks.
【Explanation】
In principle, testing cannot be performed from adhered saliva alone.
Testing from saliva is only possible when the saliva contains cell fragments such as oral epithelial cells and at least 1/100,000,000 gram of DNA is obtained.
【Narration】
The probability of getting a correct result differs depending on the sample.【Explanation】
This is not correct as "the probability of getting a correct result," but rather it is a mistake regarding the probability of obtaining DNA at a level usable for testing.
The accuracy of the testing itself does not change depending on the type of sample.
What changes is only the risk that the DNA needed for analysis cannot be extracted, resulting in no test result being obtained.
As long as the DNA needed for testing remains in the sample, an accurate test result can be obtained.
The success rate listed in Items From Which DNA Testing Is Possible shows the proportion of samples that arrive in good condition.
【Narration】
Results are available in 10 to 16 days,
and a test report is sent to the requester.
"The man believed to be the father is not excluded as the biological father of the mother's fetus."
The report states that the probability of being the father is 99.99%...
【Explanation】
This is a mistake; it is not "the probability of being the father" but rather the probability of paternity.
Probability of paternity is a genetics term that indicates the reliability of the test result, calculated based on the DNA profile obtained from the subject, using the hypothesis that the subject is the father. It is calculated for each case using a prior probability of 0.5.
Therefore, when a probability of paternity value of 99.99% is obtained, it does not mean "there is a 99.99% probability of being the father" or "there is a 0.01% probability of not being the father."
Analyzed as a probability, it means that the individuals are parent and child with a probability extremely close to 100%.
Also, since this calculation is statistical in nature, it is mathematically impossible for the result to be exactly 100%, so please be wary of unscrupulous businesses that claim to "guarantee 100%."